“I’m not choosing anything,” Jenks said.
“So who is?”
Jenks paused. Drake could hear the sound of a door being closed over the line.
“The decision was made well above my pay grade,” Jenks said.
Drake put two and two together. “Corporate.”
“If you could even call it a decision. Seemed more like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum.”
The words surprised Drake. His eyes opened a shade larger. “How so?”
Several long seconds of silence passed.
“I don’t know,” Jenks said. “The entire thing, from the moment I started asking them about these insurance policies, has felt a little off. Almost like they’re insulted someone would dare question their actions.”
Drake could sense a tinge of remorse in Jenks’ voice.
Decided to lean on it.
“If you don’t mind my saying, you don’t sound like you’re too enamored with the company line right now.”
Jenks paused. Sighed.
“Are you busy later this evening?”
“Um, no. Why?”
“Can you meet?”
Drake’s eyes doubled in size. His mouth went instantly dry.
“Absolutely.”
“Why don’t you come by the store around ten-thirty,” Jenks said. “There’s a red door at the rear of the building. I’m the only here that time of night. Just come on in.”
Drake paused. Pictured the Bargain Mart parking lot in his head.
Thought of what it might look like at that time of night.
Had the names Bronson Irwin and Edgar Carpenter pop into his head.
“You’re not trying to set me up here are you?” Drake asked.
“No,” Jenks said quietly. “Though if it would make you feel better, we can meet someplace public. You can even bring the girl with you.”
Drake weighed the offer.
Didn’t like the idea of bringing Ava along. Knew she’d be hostile if he didn’t.
Liked even less the idea of meeting at Bargain Mart.
The entire thing reeked badly. At best, Jenks was a man oozing desperation.
Drake had no idea what had changed, but something had the man spooked.
At worst, he was being set up. One more name on a list somewhere on the Bargain Mart ledger.
“Are you familiar with Desperado’s?” Drake asked.
“Um, yea. It’s down on Russell?”
“Yes, across from the YMCA. Meet you there at ten-thirty.”
Jenks paused a moment. Finally relented, accepted the proposed time and place.
Drake signed off the call. Checked his watch.
It was already approaching nine o’clock.
Scrolled through his call history. Found Ava’s number and dialed.
“What’s up?” she asked. Sounded distracted. Maybe a touch annoyed.
Drake launched into it without delay. “Jenks just called. Wants to meet.”
“They want to settle?” Voice tinged with excitement.
“Not at all. Jenks had some interesting thoughts on the matter too. Sounds like he’s losing faith in his company.”
Dawning seemed to creep through Ava’s voice.
“So when you say he wants to talk...”
“Exactly,” Drake said.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Another pause. “Um, are you serious? Does he honestly expect us to walk in there in the middle the night, knowing what they’ve been up to?”
“My thoughts as well. First thing I thought of were the names Irwin and Carpenter.”
“So what’d you tell him?”
“Told him we would meet him at Desperado’s at ten-thirty,” Drake said.
He could hear muffled movement on the line. Imagined Ava to be twisting around to see a clock.
“Hour and a half. I can do that.”
“Pick you up or meet me there?”
Ava snorted. “Pick me up. I’m damn sure not showing up there alone.”
“None of us are,” Drake said. Told her he’d see her soon. Signed off.
Immediately scrolled through and placed another call.
Kade answered on the third ring.
“Is Drake Bell actually calling me on a school night?”
Drake ignored the comment. Cut right to the favor he needed.
“You up for a trip to Despo’s?”
Kade paused. The joking tone died away from his voice.
“What’s going on?”
Drake couldn’t help but smile. His friends knew him well enough to know he rarely ever went out. Never during the week. If he was calling to set up an outing, something was in the works.
“The manager from Bargain Mart wants to meet with us tonight. Asked us to come by the store. Told him there was no way in hell.”
“So you’re going to meet him at Despo’s?”
“And we would appreciate a few friendly faces in the crowd, if you know what I mean.”
“I’ll be there by ten,” Kade said. No questions asked. No negotiation about favors or reparations.
“Thank you,” Drake said. “I haven’t asked yet, but I’m going to try and recruit you some company in just a second.”
“Tell him I’ll be by in forty-five,” Kade said.
No hint of doubt in his voice about whether Ajax would join him. No room for debate on the time of pickup.
“Thank you,” Drake said. Hung up an already dead line.
Drake stared at the phone a moment longer. Flipped it onto the bed. Walked back into the living room to find Ajax between levels.
Zip-up hoodie tossed to the side. Grey ribbed tank top showing signs of sweat. Thin sheen over his arms and shoulders.
“What’s going on?”
“Any interest in some wings?”
Chapter Forty-Three
Two chocolate milkshakes.
Couple of Whoppers.
Order of large fries.
Raquel thanked the girl at the drive-thru window. Accepted the food. Pulled to a spot in the back corner of the Burger King parking lot.
Hector divvied out the food neither one intended to eat. In unison they unwrapped the sandwiches. Left them open on their laps. Spread some fries out beside them.
Kept their focus glued to the Bargain Mart store across the street.
This was sloppy. Worse than sloppy.
In their line of work, sloppy was dangerous. Borderline foolish even.
Like, somebody wasn’t coming home tonight, foolish.
Still, million dollar jobs didn’t come much easier.
They would finish what they had been paid for. Drive to the closest city of any size. Catch a flight.
Complete the real million dollar job.
The smell of salt and grease filled the car as the clock ticked forward. At ten sharp, a young woman exited through the front door of Bargain Mart. Got in her car and drove away.
As soon as she left the parking lot, the neon red store front blinked out.
A moment later most of the parking lot lights did as well.
From where they sat, they couldn’t see a single car on the premises. Knew from their earlier reconnaissance that Jenks’ car was parked around back.
Alone.
As soon as the Bargain Mart sign went dark, Hector lifted the grease-stained paper bag from the floor. Wadded his food up and tossed it inside.
Raquel popped the top on her milkshake. Took two long pulls. Tossed everything into the bag as well.
Started the car and circled down Reserve Street. Came up a side street and turned into the Bargain Mart parking lot.
Cut a serpentine path to avoid the few remaining security lights in the parking lot.
Montgomery had already informed them cameras weren’t an issue. Still, there was no need to invite extra scrutiny.
Hector reached into the backseat as they drove. Grabbed up the three-quarter’s inch rough braid rope they had purchased at Bargain Mart
that very afternoon.
Gave a cursory tug to make sure the noose tied onto the end was secure.
At five minutes after ten, Raquel slid the car to a stop. She pulled up with the passenger side facing the single red door along the back of the concrete block wall.
Hector was out before she even stopped moving.
She was less than five steps behind him.
The goal was four minutes.
Pick the lock. Blitz attack Jenks. Subdue him without any obvious injury.
String him up in the very store he had managed into the ground.
Very tragic. Very tidy. No need for a note of any kind.
A store manager, lifetime employee, overrun with guilt. Managed the demise of the only thing he had in his life. Decided to end it all right there in the aisle.
Again, sloppy as hell.
But there’s only so many ways someone can make the death of a middle-aged man in decent health look like an obvious suicide.
Hector was the first to the door. Had the rope coiled the length of his forearm. Hitched above his elbow and through the palm of his hand.
Took a quick look at the door to see what he needed to get inside.
Found it unlocked.
“Was he expecting someone?” Hector hissed. Kept his face low. Out of the moonlight.
Raquel shook her head quickly.
“Don’t know. Three minutes.”
Hector jerked the door open. Went straight to the display basketball goal set up at the rear of the store. Tossed the noose down through the hoop. Let both ends of the rope fall lightly to the floor.
Raquel broke to the left.
Covered the short distance from the door to the bank of offices in seconds. Padded silently along on the balls of her feet.
Kept her body tucked away in the shadows. Pressed herself flat against the wall. Stood just inches away from the light spilling out from the office door.
Hector had agreed after the last one that this was her turn. She felt the familiar surge of adrenaline fill her veins. Flush hot beneath her skin.
Not one visible sign of what was about to come expressed itself.
No increased breathing. No sweating.
Her pupils didn’t even dialate.
For several long seconds, she stood and waited.
Once Hector had everything in order at the basketball goal, he stepped over to an adjacent shelf. Selected a regulation NBA basketball. Began to dribble it.
The sound of inflated leather against a tile floor echoed through the store. Seemed to reverberate off the walls.
Raquel smiled. Waited as a desk chair rolled across a plastic mat. Cheap loafers shuffled closer.
A shadow blotted out most of the light.
“They’re here,” the man said aloud. Stepped through the open door. Held his hands by his side as if the situation were inevitable.
For all intents and purposes, it was.
Raquel was behind him before he even knew it. Placed one hand under his chin. The other across the top of his head.
Twisted them in opposite directions.
The human neck can withstand fifty-six pounds of pressure before snapping.
Raquel used several times that amount. By the time the man’s body fell limp to the floor, his face was turned in the opposite direction.
Watery blue eyes stared up at her beneath thinning red hair from the floor of the store.
Once his body hit the ground, the bouncing of the ball stopped. Hector appeared by her side.
Smirked at the sight of the man looking up at the ceiling.
“Going to be tough to make that look like the work of a noose.”
Raquel cocked a glance at him.
“Do we care?”
Hector grabbed the man by the back of his slacks. Carried him with one hand towards the basketball goal.
“Not at all.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Drake and Ava’s welcome came in four distinct steps.
The first thing to greet them was neon lights.
Big, bold, fluorescent. A twisted formation of orange and gold that announced Desperado’s to the world. An outline of a cow’s skull beneath it in brown.
The second thing to greet them was the smell.
The unmistakable aroma of fried food. Wafted out through the vents in the roof. Filled their noses with the scent of chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, French fries.
A veritable Mecca of American bar food.
The third was the sound.
A cacophony of noise comprised of everything a proper Montana bar should have.
The bells and whistles of slot machines in the corner. The sound of classic rock on the dance floor. The announcer’s on an early-season NBA game on some televisions above the bar.
A din of screaming conversation that hung over everything.
The final welcome came from the bartender Merle.
Merle had been the bartender at Despo’s for over twenty years. A rite-of-passage of people claiming to have spent time in Missoula. Rumor was in all that time, he had never forgotten a face.
If Merle didn’t know who you were, you hadn’t been to Despo’s. If you hadn’t been to Despo’s, you hadn’t been to Missoula.
It was as simple as that.
Stereotype would say that a Montana barman should weigh somewhere north of three hundred pounds. Have tattoos on either forearm. Feature a grizzled beard and a few scars.
In reality, Merle weighed somewhere south of one-fifty. Face and head shaved clean. White button-down shirt. Apron around his waist. Towel over his shoulder.
“Drake Bell!” Merle boomed as they entered. Offered a toothy grin. “I was wondering if I might see you after Kade and Ajax came in.”
Drake reached across the bar. Shook Merle’s hand. While he was nowhere near a regular, he had been by many times over the years.
Serving the best wings in Montana had a way of drawing a crowd.
“Good to see you, Merle. Allow me to introduce you to Miss Ava Zargoza.”
Merle nodded politely. “Pleasure to meet you. Can you get you two anything?”
“We’re actually supposed to meet someone here,” Drake said. “Get at us as soon as we’re done?”
“You got it,” Merle said. Pointed and smiled. Made his way to refill a mug at the end of the bar.
Across the room, Drake spotted Kade and Ajax playing pool. Smiled.
It was an easy way for them to remain on their feet. Move around. Survey the entirety of the bar.
Not be noticed.
A pitcher of beer sat on a table beside them for effect. Neither one had taken more than a few swigs.
Ajax caught Drake’s eye for a moment. Nodded.
Kade never looked up.
Drake had no doubt he had witnessed the entire interaction with Merle.
“Should we go join them?” Ava asked.
“No,” Drake said. Lightly gripped her elbow. Steered her towards a table close to the door. Positioned himself so he was facing it.
“Why not? Isn’t that why they’re here? Strength in numbers?”
“It is, but I’d rather not tip our hand at the moment,” Drake said. “If somebody’s here, I’d like for them to think we’re an easier target. Only bring the guys in if we have to.”
Ava stared across at him. Looked incredulous.
Eventually it faded into a smile.
“How’d you guys all meet anyway?”
Drake glanced at the door. Pretended to look up at the televisions to check the basketball score.
“Pretty simple really. Ajax and I were randomly assigned as roommates freshmen year. Kade and I played ball together.
“We were all a bit outside the norm by Montana standards. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”
“Truth,” Ava said. “I can understand Ajax. He might be the only black person I’ve even talked to since I’ve been here.
“Kade a little bit too. I’m guessing being half-white, half-Indian can be tou
gh.
“But you? You’re a clean-cut white boy. Sure, you have an accent, but that doesn’t really make you an outsider.”
Drake snorted. Again checked the door.
No sign of Jenks.
“Miss Ava, let me ask you something. How long have you been in Missoula?”
Ava arched an eyebrow. “You know when I got here. Couple months, tops. Why?”
“And how do people treat you here?”
A pause to think. Smirk. “Like an outsider. But to be fair, I don’t exactly fit in here.”
“True, but I’ve been here going on seven years and people still treat me that way. Make no mistake, they’re nice, even friendly.
“But I am a resident, I am not a local. And they don’t mind letting me know it.”
Ava shrugged. Seemed to accept the explanation. “Makes sense, I guess.”
“Mhmm,” Drake said.
“Do I even want to know about Rink?”
Drake coughed out a laugh. “Probably not. In all fairness, he’s a good guy. And he’d go to the end of the world to help us. He just happens to like, um, exotic women.”
Ava leveled a stare at him. “And I’m exotic?”
“For Missoula? You might as well be Cleopatra.”
Drake ignored the look from Ava. Checked the door again.
“Any sign of him?”
“Nothing.”
Drake slid his cell-phone from his jeans. Checked the time.
They had arrived five minutes early. It was already ten minutes past when they agreed to meet.
On a whim, Drake scrolled through his call log. Found Jenks’ number. Hit send.
Hung up when the voicemail kicked on.
“No answer,” Drake said. Checked the time again.
“Do you think we’ve been stood up?”
Drake pursed his lips. Tilted his head. “It’s possible, but doesn’t really make sense. He called me, remember?”
“True, but that was also when he wanted to meet at the store. Maybe you changing the location to here scared him off?”
“Why though? I mean, it’s not like he knows what Kade and Ajax look like. He couldn’t know we had friends inside.”
“Maybe it wasn’t him,” Ava countered. “We know several bodies have shown up under crazy circumstances this week. Who knows how many there are or what they’ve seen?”
Drake paused. Surveyed the room around them.
Even on a Tuesday, the room was over half full.
Dead Peasants (Zoo Crew series Book 2) Page 18