I jerked forward. “Rod?”
Frank nodded, then looked back at Warner. “He wants to make a deal, but will only speak with you or Mr. Sinclair.”
“Have them bring him here,” Warner said. “We can sort this mess out once and for all.”
Frank nodded, raised the phone back to his head, and said, “Bring him to the ranch, ASAP. . . . No, it’s only Travis. Nobody will see you.” Frank turned off the phone and sat back down.
“But, Daddy,” Mary pleaded. “What about Tom?”
Warner sighed. “Have you tried calling his cell phone?”
“Yes. He doesn’t answer. It’s just the voice mail.” Mary flew across the room and landed at Warner’s feet. “Don’t you see? That proves there’s something wrong. Frank has to go look for him.”
Warner looked at Frank, who shook his head and then gestured to me. Warner nodded and looked down at his daughter. “This isn’t a good time for Frank to go out. When his people arrive, we can send them back out to look for Tom.”
“But, Daddy—”
“No buts.” He picked up his cane and raised himself out of the chair. “I’m going to take my pills and lie down. Come and get me when everyone has arrived.”
Frank stood. “Of course, sir.”
Mary sulked as he left the room, but soon distracted herself by dialing Sinclair’s cell phone again.
Frank glanced longingly at the whiskey, then picked it up and brought it toward me.
“You go ahead and have it.”
Frank smiled and pulled back. “He doesn’t break out the good stuff for the hired help. I think he really likes you.”
“If that’s how he treats somebody he likes, I’d hate to see what he does to people he loves.”
Frank glanced at Mary, then downed a large gulp of the alcohol.
Twenty minutes later Mary was still dialing the phone, listening expectantly, then hanging up when the voice mail picked up. Headlights flashed in the front windows and she abruptly dropped the phone.
“Tom.” Mary ran to the double doors. Her shoulders tensed in anticipation and then sank. “It’s not him.”
Frank let out a long breath and abandoned his comfortable seat. “Don’t overexcite yourself, Mrs. Sinclair.”
I tried to sit up. “Is it Rod?”
Frank had reached the doors and was now unlocking the bolts. “And friends.”
Mary returned to where she’d dropped the phone and redialed.
Footsteps sounded on the same steps I’d climbed forty minutes earlier, then Belly walked through the entryway followed by Rod and Skinny.
Rod had shaved and done whatever it is he does to his hair, but he wore the same suit.
Frank offered his hand to Rod. “Thanks for making the trip.”
Rod, looking eerily like the smiling reporter from KJAY’s cheesy ads, shook Frank’s hand. “My pleasure. Having Leland Warner behind me will be a big boost for my career.”
“I’m sure it will,” Frank agreed. “We’re waiting on Mr. Sinclair. Then we’ll all put our heads together. I’m sure if you and Lilly cooperate, you’ll be generously rewarded.”
A flicker of something unpleasant crossed Rod’s face but he recovered so quickly I doubted Frank noticed. “I’d rather not involve Lilly. I’ve got the tape. We can proceed without her.”
“Too late.” Frank gestured to me.
Belly advanced while wagging a finger at me. “Missy, missy, missy. You didn’t meet us at two. Peggy Sue shouldn’t stand her best boys up at the big dance. That ain’t right.”
“I got a feeling Peggy Sue’s best boys would rather tug on each other’s—”
“Maybe it’s not a good idea to antagonize them.” Rod shot forward and blocked Belly’s path to me.
Skinny smiled from the doorway. “We made a bit of a mess at your place when we found you weren’t home.”
I smiled back. “Lovely. Just lovely.”
Belly pointed at Rod. “Got your boyfriend’s place too.”
“You did what?” Rod asked at the same time as I said, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Dale, come here,” Frank called from the still open double doors.
Belly turned around, but not before winking at me.
“We’ll just be a minute,” Frank told Rod. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
Rod sat down on the edge of the sofa and watched the three men conferring in the open doorway. They spoke quietly and were far enough away that their voices reached us as indecipherable mumbles.
“You’re lucky my hands are tied,” I said.
Rod turned a worried face toward me. “Are you okay? They haven’t hurt you, have they?”
“Like you care.”
“How can you say that?”
I snorted. “Give the act a rest. I’m not buying it anymore.”
He took a furtive look at the men in the doorway, then lowered his voice. “Why did you leave me in Arvin?”
“Don’t act all innocent. I know what you’re doing here.”
He shook his head. “Listen, I did call Sinclair, but—”
“Don’t get me wrong. You’ve got a great routine. First-class all the way. Butter me up with all your nice-guy manners and then throw in a little vulnerable geek and you’re gold. You’re in like Flint and I bought it hook, line and sinker, but I’m not buying it anymore.”
“What are you talking about? Who’s Flint?”
“James Coburn. You’re mother’s a producer. You should know about old movies.”
“You’re not making sense.” Suddenly his eyes widened. “Did they hit you over the head?”
“Yes, but I’m making perfect sense.”
He held up his hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Stop it. The only thing wrong with me is I was stupid enough to think you were a sweet guy and had to get the rug pulled out from under me.”
His hand dropped. “What are you’re talking about?”
“I heard you on the phone at the restaurant. Don’t play innocent.”
He tensed, drew back slightly, then leaned in close to whisper, “Lilly, I don’t know what you think you heard, but I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can, and I’m sure you’ll come up with some devious way to make me believe you, which is why I’m not going to listen. You are a liar, end of story.”
He sighed and pulled back to his seat on the edge of the couch. “When this is all over, I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain.”
I rolled my eyes so he turned his attention to the conference still going on at the door. “Have you figured who tampered with the crime scene and why?”
Given how little I trusted him, I should probably have kept my mouth shut, but the change in subject was a welcome diversion. “No one tampered with the crime scene. Dick and Dale appear to be the only cops on Warner’s payroll.”
“Then why does everyone want the tape?”
I indicated Mary in the corner still dialing the cell phone. “That’s Leland Warner’s daughter. They think I shot video of her sitting in a car at the front of the orchard. It proves she was there last night.” I shook my head. “I mean, if it hadn’t been too dark and the shots had come out, it would have proven it.”
I gave him a quick review of what I’d learned.
“Where’s Sinclair?” he asked when I’d finished.
“I don’t know.” I gestured with my head to the group at the door. “I think Frank is going to send Dick and Dale out looking for him.”
“Are you sure they’re cops?”
I nodded. “Bakersfield PD.”
Headlights flashed in the windows. Mary dropped the cell phone and rammed through the men at the door like a three-hundred-pound linebacker. She was outside before any of them could stop her.
Frank put his hand inside his coat and rested it on the gun. “Dick, you stay here.” He gestured to us. “Keep an eye on them. Dale, you come with me.”
Frank and Belly joined Mary outside. Ski
nny stayed in the doorway. I heard several car doors open and close. After a few seconds Skinny ran outside.
Rod sat up in alarm. “I don’t understand. This isn’t right.”
“Right for what?”
Rod jumped up. “Stay here.”
“Like hell.” I scooted to the edge of the couch and pushed up. I lost my balance and almost fell over. Rod had already reached the front door. I followed and stumbled into his back.
He put an arm around me and propped me up. “You should go back to the couch.”
What I saw in front of the house made me agree. Frank, Dick, and Dale were facing down my worst nightmare and several members of his gang. To the side, two more of Jason’s men held Sinclair while Mary clung to his neck with both hands. Behind them two black SUVs blocked the driveway.
Rod bent his head and leaned down. “I don’t know who they are, but I think everybody has guns.”
My voice caught as I said, “It’s the Eastside Crew.”
Rod remained bent over in a kind of standing fetal position talking into his crotch. “The driveway’s blocked.”
“Rod, this is no time to lose it.” I took a step backward. “We have to get out of here.”
“What’s going on?” Warner bellowed from behind me. I tried to duck out of view, but it was too late. Everyone turned toward Warner’s voice. When Jason saw me, his scowl transformed into a sick smile.
Warner reached my side and stopped when he saw the scene in front of his house. The shock only fazed him for a moment. “Mary, come here at once.” He took several decisive steps onto the porch. “Let go of Tom and come here.”
Mary stayed where she was. “They won’t let Tom go. Daddy, make them let him go.”
“Dad, please.” Sinclair was struggling to stand against Mary’s weight. “I had no choice. They were waiting for me at home. I had to bring them here.”
Jason stepped forward. “Old man, Tommy Boy owes me and says you’re gonna make good for him.”
“I don’t know anything about your dealings with my son-in-law.” Warner paused, then raised a bushy eyebrow. “Boy.”
I think it would have been less insulting if he’d actually used the N-word.
The two men stared at each other. Jason’s silence was terrifying. Even Mary knew enough to keep her mouth shut.
“Me and your …boy,” Jason said, and gestured to Sinclair, “we had an agreement. I held up my end of the deal. Now he can cry about Val getting jacked, but I don’t care. Tommy Boy is going to make good or else you’ll make good for him.”
“Please,” Sinclair whimpered. “I swear I didn’t take the money. Val was dead when we got there.”
“Are you deaf? I don’t care. The point is you’re responsible.” Jason turned to Warner. “And you’re responsible for him.”
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to be extorted like this.” Warner waved his cane. “Mary, come inside immediately.”
“No, Daddy. I won’t leave Tom.”
Jason gestured to his men, who then let go of Sinclair. Mary cried out and threw her arms even farther around his neck. Frank, Dick, and Dale all seemed to relax, but kept their hands hovering over their guns.
“See, I can’t let it stand.” Jason’s hand darted toward Mary. He ripped her away from Sinclair by the hair and shoved a gun at her head. He faced Warner. “Now me and you are gonna work something out.”
Frank, Dick, and Dale each drew their guns. Jason’s men drew theirs.
The situation no longer felt merely dangerous. Violence had become a certainty.
Rod, who was no longer bent over, motioned toward the inside of the house. I nodded and slowly took a step backward away from the door.
“No, you don’t, girl.” Jason was looking right at me. “You and your shorty come out here.” He turned the gun on us.
I had an insane desire to yell that Rod was not my shorty, but remained frozen.
“Do what he says,” Warner told me, then cautiously stepped down the stairs and out of the way of stray bullets.
“I’ll come out, but he’s staying inside.” I motioned to Rod with my head. “He doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
Jason, still holding a whimpering Mary, shook his head. “I said both of you.”
I worked hard to keep my voice steady. “I said just me.”
“It’s okay. We’ll cooperate.” Rod moved down the steps. “But don’t hurt anyone.”
“How about I hurt you?” Jason threatened.
I followed Rod. “There’s no reason to hurt either of us. What Sinclair told you about me is a lie. I’m not blackmailing anyone. All I did was photograph his wife in a car last night. I don’t know anything that could incriminate you.”
“You and me got a whole lot of other issues, goes way beyond this.” Jason dropped Mary, who fell into the dirt at his feet. He ignored her and stared at me. His focus was total, as if we were the only two people there. “Nice girls shouldn’t play with Mace.”
Jason handed his gun to one of his men and drew a switchblade from a pocket. He looked at Warner a few feet from me. “Consider this a preview of what’s coming for your daughter if you don’t make things right.”
Jason hit the button and the long steel blade popped into view.
TWENTY-ONE
With my arms still cuffed behind me I was defenseless. I looked to Frank, Dick, and Dale for help, but they stood motionless.
“Think they’ll stop me?” Jason laughed and came at me with the knife.
The sound of rushing water flooded my ears. I stumbled backward and Rod quickly stepped in front of me.
Jason came to a sudden stop. His hand with the knife remained raised.
“Wait a minute.” Rod dabbed at his forehead with his blue silk handkerchief. “There’s no reason this has to turn violent. I’m sure we can work something out.”
“Out of my way,” Jason ordered.
A high-pitched giggle bubbled up from inside Rod.
“You think that’s funny?” Jason switched the knife to his left hand. His fist shot at Rod’s stomach.
“No,” I cried.
Rod crumpled into the dirt and moaned as his eyes rolled back into his head. At the same time a high-pitched sound came from his gut. With dawning understanding I recognized it as feedback.
Jason’s man jumped back and pointed at Rod. “He’s wired up. He’s wired up.”
Frank turned on Dick and Dale. “Did you search him?”
The glance Dick and Dale exchanged confirmed they hadn’t.
“Of all the—”
Sirens cut Frank off.
Jason didn’t react. Everyone else ran as the police lights flashed against the fog, but he didn’t move. Without taking his eyes off Rod he raised the knife.
I used the only weapon I had. My body smashed into Jason like a battering ram. We both fell.
“This is the police,” a voice called over a speaker. “Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air.”
I don’t know who fired the first shot, or the second, or the third. I didn’t see any of it. Instead I kept my body flat, my eyes closed, and my head facedown in the dirt.
Until strong hands ripped me onto my back. I looked up to see Jason raise the knife.
Someone moved behind him. A flash of silver descended and Jason collapsed. I kicked his unconscious body away. “Thank you.”
Warner inverted the cane he’d used to strike Jason and grasped the silver handle. He placed the tip of the cane in the dirt and leaned on it. “You’re welcome.”
The first ambulance took Dick and a gang member, both of whom had been shot. The second took the security guard who’d been badly beaten at the front gate, and Jason, who had a severe head injury. Mary had to be sedated, and even that put only a mild dent in her hysteria. We were only too happy to let Warner take her in the third ambulance, even though she had no injuries. Sinclair, Frank, and Dale all lawyered up and were taken to Sheriff’s Department headquarters in
handcuffs. Even Warner and Mary’s ambulance had a police escort—and not the good kind.
The clearing in front of Warner’s house had been transformed. Plastic markers indicating shell casings were everywhere. A line of Sheriff’s Department vehicles ran down the dirt road as far as the eye could see. Every few moments a bright flash lit the scene as a TI took a photo. Two detective sergeants were there, and the sheriff himself had stopped in.
“Next ambulance is a couple minutes away.” Handsome leapt up the porch steps. “The fog’s slowing them down.”
I looked up at Rod. He was sitting in a cedar chair next to where I sat on the floor of the porch. “You should be next. You could have some freaky internal injury the EMT couldn’t find.”
Rod smiled and adjusted the ice packs on his abdomen. “I doubt it.”
“I’m sorry it went down that way.” Handsome glanced at me without making eye contact. “Neither of you were supposed to get hurt.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said.
He nodded. “It was a tough call deciding when to come in. We weren’t expecting the Eastside Crew, and we didn’t have good intelligence about the layout in here.”
“I’m grateful you were here at all.” I smiled at Handsome and then Rod. “Both of you.”
“At least nobody got away and nobody died.” Handsome glanced at the police cruisers, where Jason’s men were waiting for the Gang Enforcement Unit. “And we’ve taken a lot of bad guys off the street. Even two dirty cops.”
“What’s going to happen to them?” I asked. “And Frank?”
“With your testimony we can get all three for assault and kidnapping. Once I build a case against Sinclair, we’ll also charge them with accessory to murder.”
I’d told Handsome and Lucero everything I knew, but we hadn’t had a chance to discuss what it meant. “You’re sure Sinclair killed Val Boyle?”
“Of course. It’s plain as day.” Handsome’s voice carried a hint of annoyance. “The kid called him to back out. Sinclair went down to the orchard, lost his temper, and shot him. Then he panics, grabs the money, and drives off.”
“Leaving his wife?”
“That’s why they call it panicking, sweetheart.” Handsome grinned. “He wasn’t thinking straight.”
A Bad Day’s Work Page 23