Out Jumps Jack Death: A Clancy Evans Mystery (Clancy Evans PI Book 8)

by M. Glenn Graves

  “Sounds gruesomely efficient.”

  “Don’t know about the gruesome part, but has been efficient. Thus far.”

  “You ever worry about what you do making you a pathological killer?”

  “You sayin’ I am not one?”

  She finished her cup of coffee and refilled it. She moved back to the bed and began scratching Sam’s head. I was still contemplating her question.

  “Not yet,” I said.

  “You must wonder or you wouldn’t ask the question.”

  “At times you seem cold blooded.”

  “I suppose I am. Most of the time I have no feelings in regards to shooting people.”

  “Most of the time,” I repeated.

  “Yeah. Two or three times I have abandoned a job. Didn’t seem like the thing to do. So I walked away.”

  “You can do that?”

  “If you’re as good as I am, yes … and know how to stay hidden.”

  “You keep the money? I thought you were paid a portion up front.”

  “Depends. I take out my expenses and send what’s left back.”

  “Courier?”

  “Too much information,” she said and gulped down the hot coffee.

  30

  We were at a local mom and pop’s eating breakfast when Starnes called.

  “The Feds have arrived en masse. They seem to be serious about finding Rosey. Their mantra is that he is a fugitive and threat to national security. Yadi-ya. You know the drill.”

  “I assume the F.B.I.”

  “Plus.”

  “Wow, does sound serious.”

  “Lots of ‘em. And they’re acting mean.”

  “You count them?”

  “Only the vehicles.”

  “More than three?” I said taking a stab at some obscene number to me.

  “Six arrived first, close to dawn… and then four more joined the party during my breakfast. They have dogs and lots of automatic weapons.”

  “Did you invite them for chow?”

  “Didn’t have enough places at my small table. Nor plates. Not even the paper variety. They didn’t seem to be hungry for food.”

  “Do they know where to look?”

  “Probably not, but since they’re behaving like menaces, they’re hoping I will crumble from their threats.”

  “So, he’s safe?”

  “For now, but I’m not sure how long he can remain that way. I think the plan is to canvass the entire county.”

  “Large county.”

  “Yeah, but one can consume an elephant given enough time.”

  “Obviously you’re calling on a secure line,” I said.

  “Extra cell I keep for such an occasion.”

  “Such an occasion? I would never have guessed such subterfuge from you. ”

  “I have friends who get me in all sorts of tight spots,” she said.

  “Yeah, I bet you do. You have a plan?”

  “Emergency evacuation, nothing more.”

  “When do you implement said plan?”

  “As soon as I can get shed of the Feds roaming around my place.”

  “They’ll likely pick up the scent on the trail behind the house,” I said.

  “I’m hoping they get a whiff of that and head off to Ida’s place. Just the window I need to implement my notion.”

  “Ida okay to play along?”

  “Ida can handle herself. It’s only twenty-four or so suits running around with dogs. Ida’s good with such a small number.”

  I couldn’t tell if that was Starnes’ tongue-in-cheek humor or she was being sarcastic with me. I was counting on the former.

  “What do you need from me?” I said.

  “Find Marvin. I think he is at home in Barnardsville.”

  “What can Marvin do?”

  “Help me hide our mutual friend,” Starnes said. “He did come and warn him.”

  Diamond, Sam, and I were on the road again heading west towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. The weather was spectacular. Sunshine, warmth, and blue skies that would make a photographer sell his grandmother for the photos. It was almost April. Something about that month that gives me some hope each spring.

  Diamond was driving. I was riding shotgun. Sam was sitting up in the back looking at the road ahead. He was perched in between the two front seats for a wider viewpoint.

  “Something’s afoot,” Diamond said.

  We were making good time. I leaned over to see if I could tell how far to the right the needle had moved.

  “You looking for something?” she said to me.

  “The number closest to that needle in front of you.”

  “70.”

  “We don’t need to be stopped.”

  “I know the zones. We won’t be stopped.”

  Sam was still perched between our seats watching the oncoming traffic on I-66 as we sped merrily along. I was still envious of Diamond and her truck. I missed my Jeep, though.

  “The Feds are circling the wagons.”

  “Capture imminent?”

  “Not likely. Starnes has sufficient wherewithal to delay the government’s best.”

  “Wherewithal,” she repeated in a flat tone without feeling.

  “I’d trust her with my life,” I said.

  “So we’re heading westward. To what end?”

  “Not sure. Starnes has the plan.”

  “Oh, goodie. Glad somebody has a plan,” Diamond said.

  “You have a phone that is secure?” I was reluctant to continue usage of my cell for fear that my line was compromised. I had no way of knowing for sure, but I decided against taking the chance. I might put Marvin in harm’s way.

  She nodded. She retrieved an ancient looking apparatus from her jeans’ pocket and handed it to me.

  “It’s not even a flip phone,” I said.

  “Then give it back.”

  “It’ll do.”

  I punched in Marvin’s number from memory. I’m not just a pretty face with flaming hair and a gun. I began memorizing phone numbers as a child. Helped to pass the time on days when I couldn’t go fishing and I wasn’t able to tag along with my daddy, the sheriff.

  It rang seven times and then an automated female voice answered. The usual fare – something about the party you have called not being available and please leave a message. Yadi- ya.

  I left a message. “Call me. Now!”

  No number and no name left. I figured I would make it as difficult as I could for those who might be bugging his line. Diamond’s number would not be traceable to me, at least not for a day or so. That might be long enough.

  An hour later Diamond’s phone rang. It sounded like an old fashioned telephone ringing in the back hallway.

  “Original,” I said to her as I answered. “Marvin?”

  “Who is this?” he said.

  “Me.”

  “Do I know you?”

  “Not as well as you did yesterday, but today and tomorrow are bright with possibilities.”

  My intuition told me that he was about to blurt out my name, so I quickly spoke again.

  “Call me M. Do not use my name.”

  There was a pause on the other end.

  “Oh, yeah. Like James Bond,” he said.

  “Very good, Marvin. Very good.”

  “Why is it you can use my name and I can’t use yours?”

  “Good question. I’ll explain later. For now, I need to know where you are and where we can meet.”

  “I’m twelve minutes out from IHOP in Weaverville. How long will it take you to get there?”

  We set up a time.

  “Go buy a new phone and don’t use your given name,” I said.

  “But how will you know how to call me?”

  “I won’t. You will call me if necessary. Use this number. See you in Weaverville’s famous IHOP.”

  I pushed the stop button. I was positive that Marvin Dillingham was confused and a little nervous. I also believed that he would show up at the restaurant
at our designated time for our get-together in Weaverville. Mr. Dependable.

  Good to have people like that on one’s side.

  31

  Sam was in the truck and dining sumptuously on bacon, eggs, and a gravy biscuit. Diamond and I were seated in the IHOP in Weaverville waiting for Marvin to show. We were fifteen minutes early. Old lead-foot had made better time than I had estimated. We had stayed at a B&B in Bristol, Tennessee for the night. We then crawled out of our separate beds before the sun showed its face, and drove nonstop to Weaverville. No real rest for the desperate, the weary, and the chased.

  I was downing my fourth cup of coffee while Diamond was simply toying with her first.

  “Not much of a caffeine addict,” I said.

  “Don’t need it.”

  “You’re awake and ready for action.”

  “Mostly.”

  “What motivates you?”

  “Certainly not drugs.”

  “Touché. Some of us have character flaws,” I said.

  “Some others of us not so much.”

  “You kill people. You don’t think that’s a character flaw?”

  “I don’t think much about it,” she said and took a tiny sip from her nearly full cup. “Besides…,” she didn’t finish.

  I waited.

  “Besides what?”

  “You kill people, too.”

  “Yeah. It seems that I have that flaw as well.”

  “Some difference.”

  “Yeah. I don’t like the fact that it happens now and then. Bothers me some … maybe more than just some.”

  “I get paid to do it. You do it out of some sense of justice or justifiable revenge.”

  “Revenge?” I said.

  “You think the people you go after deserve to be brought to justice. If you have to kill them, you do. Justifiable,” she said and stared at her coffee.

  I didn’t have anything to say. Once in a while the truth hits you hard, squarely in the face. Gets your attention. Difficult to argue against.

  Marvin Dillingham walked into the IHOP and I gestured slightly with my hand and caught his attention. He sat down next to me. He stared across the table at Diamond.

  “How are you, Marvin?” I said.

  “Scared, a little.”

  “Good to be scared a little. Could keep you alive.”

  “I have not had the pleasure,” he said to Diamond.

  “No, you have not,” she answered.

  There was an awkward moment among us before I realized my role.

  “Oh, Marvin, this is Diamond. Diamond, this is Marvin.”

  Marvin extended his right hand across the table to her, “Good to meet you.”

  She nodded. Nothing more. Her right hand never moved or flinched from its attachment to the side ring on her coffee mug.

  Marvin retracted his extended arm and hand with some obvious discomfort.

  “What more do you need from me?” Marvin said.

  The waitress came to our table before I could answer him. The only order we had placed since arriving was for Sam. Now it was our turn.

  Diamond ordered an English muffin and some OJ. I wanted a full course meal, so I ordered waffles, eggs, sausage, and some grits. Marvin ordered a glass of milk.

  The waitress listened to us and wrote nothing down. I was impressed. Some folks are good at what they do. Or maybe she couldn’t read her own handwriting.

  “The people who are after Rosey have involved the FBI and they are coming after him full force.”

  “That’s not good,” he said. “But what can I do?”

  “We may need to move Rosey to another hiding place. You know any good places around here where he could hide out for a while?”

  Marvin seemed to be thinking. I drank some of the coffee our waitress had just poured into my cup. Diamond was circling the top of her coffee cup with her left index finger while she was staring at Marvin. He looked at her momentarily and then quickly found my eyes. I think she made him nervous. Diamond made most people nervous.

  “When I was a boy scout, we used to hike some trails around here. The Pisgah National Forest is not far away. He could hide there, but he needs to be willing to sleep out in the elements.”

  “He’s been doing that for a week or more.”

  “Where is he now?” Marvin said.

  “I’d rather not say.”

  “Okay.”

  He looked at Diamond and then at me.

  “Is she always so intense?”

  “That’s not intense,” I said. “That’s her being relaxed.”

  “Should I be frightened of her?” he said.

  “That’ll work. But she won’t hurt you.”

  “How do you know that?” Diamond said to me.

  “Because this is one of the good guys,” I said.

  “I sometimes go after the good guys.”

  “That was in the olden days. You’re with me now.”

  “Olden days?” she almost smiled.

  “I’ll draw you a map,” Marvin said.

  “Maps are good,” I said.

  Our food came and I began eating as if I had not eaten in days. Marvin sipped his milk while he watched Diamond eat her English muffin. She stared at Marvin while she chewed her toasted bread.

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him what Diamond did for a living.

  32

  I had Marvin’s precise map, Sam, and nothing resembling a plan as I headed for a meet with Starnes. I was going after Rosey so we could relocate his hiding place. Diamond stayed with Marvin. I was concerned that our presence with him might compromise his safety.

  I watched them drive away in Marvin’s vintage 1967 VW Beetle. Forest green with a black interior. It appeared to have a new paint job. Must be a hobby of his, I speculated. Diamond looked odd riding shotgun in a Volkswagen Bug.

  As I passed the Barnardsville/Jupiter exit on the Future I-26, Rogers called with some news. I had given her the number for the phone which Diamond had provided me since my phone was likely compromised.

  “You recall that not-so-silent cohort Jeffrey Durant I provided you?” she began. “I have some news about him.”

  “Okay.”

  “He’s really silent now.”

  “As in dead?”

  “Quite. Metro police found his body floating in the Potomac.”

  “Details?”

  “Well, Dearie, as you might imagine, when a Secret Service Agent goes belly-up in the waters around Washington, there is a serious amount of commotion. Both the Metro police and the Service are out in full force investigating their little hearts out. Two gunshots, one to the frontal lobe and another at the nape of the neck. Both .22s. Appears professional.”

  “You saw some crime scene photos?”

  “Saw what they took at the retrieval site when they dragged his swollen body from the Potomac. Speculation is that he was killed somewhere else and then dumped unceremoniously into the dirty river.”

  “How long had he been in the water?” I said.

  “At least 48 hours, but the ME is scouring the remains and the official report is likely to come forth quietly. Hush-hush, you know.”

  “Yeah, I bet. No leads, right.”

  “Nary a one. What do you think?”

  “I think Thaddeus Wilkerson knows something.”

  “You believe he is eliminating co-conspirators so he will not have to share his ill-gotten gains?”

  “Ill-gotten gains?”

  “My education through reading.”

  “Maybe that depends upon what you read,” I said.

  “Francis Bacon said that reading maketh a full man.”

  “That would be quality, not quantity … and Bacon also went on to say that interaction with others makes for a person who is able to do and be.”

  “That doesn’t sound like what I read,” she said.

  “My translation into the modern vernacular.”

  “Doesn’t ring as authentic as the original.”

 
“Speaking of not ringing true, you could be right. Old Thad just might be eliminating any co-conspirators thus negating the necessity of sharing whatever forthcoming spoils there might be. Then again, he just might be cutting his ties and liabilities.”

  “Might also explain why he is willing to call for a truce with you and your friendly assassin,” she said.

  “As in streamlining his cohorts and accomplices,” I said.

  “It’s a viable theory. He gets rid of everyone who knows except for Rosey, the one he can’t seem to find.”

  “The others are close at hand, so he surprises them with a bullet.”

  “I shall continue to dig forthwith.”

  “Forthwith,” I said and placed the phone in the center tray of Diamond’s truck.

  Sam was riding shotgun now and watching the oncoming traffic across the median of the four-lane. Over the years I have discerned that he preferred dump trucks and school buses. Preferred means that he became somewhat excited when he spotted either a dump truck or a school bus. Alert ears and a wagging tail. No accounting for taste. Go figure. Maybe he once knew people who drove such vehicles. Or maybe he played with such when he was a puppy.

  Diamond’s antiquated phone rang.

  “Don’t come here,” Starnes said.

  “I’m on Hwy 213 headed your way.”

  “Stop in Athens and meet me at the WW,” she said. I knew she meant the Wagon Wheel, a local restaurant I was used to from prior meetings. It was her code in case her phone was tapped.

  “Why can’t I come to your place?”

  “Feds. We’re still crawling with Feds.”

  “Won’t they follow you?”

  “Maybe, but do remember this is my home county and I know ways and means that these people don’t.”

  “I’ll bet you do.”

  She clicked off and I took a left and traveled through the Athens College campus and then doubled back to the Wagon Wheel. The college was a small liberal arts school situated in the plateau of the village of Athens. It was surrounded by mountains. Quaint. Picturesque. Pastoral. I knew little of the school. My knowledge began and ended with the ambience of the setting for this place of education.

  I parked in the back of the Wagon Wheel and left the windows cracked for Sam. Since I had no idea how long I would have to wait for Starnes to meander about the county eluding the sticky Feds, I brought Sam a couple of hamburgers and some water. Maybe that would tide him over. Maybe not. He seemed pleased with the burgers. He liked the way WW fixed them.