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

by M. Glenn Graves

“There is no end to knowledge. Oh, by the way, I have an exact count on the money we absconded from Thaddeus Wilkerson,” she said.

  “Do tell.”

  “We now have one billion, nine hundred ninety-nine million, and eight hundred thousand dollars.”

  “We?” I said.

  There was a long pause.

  “You need to remember that I know where it is and you do not,” Rogers said.

  43

  Marvin Dillingham’s hamburgers were mouthwatering. The man knew how to prepare some mean burgers. Must be an old family recipe for the sauce he used during the grilling. After I had received Rogers’ grand news, I ate two of them plus a larger than necessary portion of Rosey’s Southern baked beans.

  I had not as yet shared my recent update from Rogers with anyone. But since my mood had changed, I think that Starnes and Rosey knew something was up.

  I was washing the dishes after our festive meal and Starnes was drying. The rest of the party animals were enjoying themselves on the front porch in the dark. It was one of those clear nights with few clouds and abundant stars. There were some planets thrown in for good measure and Rosey was showing off his astrological knowledge to Marvin and Laurel.

  “Why are you so chirpy?” Starnes said to me.

  “I’m not chirpy.”

  “Okay, then why so cheery?”

  “The game is not over yet.”

  “The game.”

  “Yeah. I have managed to disturb the proverbial applecart.”

  “Disturb?”

  “Quite.”

  “I thought that the proverbial applecart was upset,” she corrected.

  “Okay then … I have upset the applecart.”

  “I’m not sure I like the direction this conversation is taking,” Starnes said.

  “I don’t like it when the bad guys get away with bad stuff.”

  “It happens every day,” she said.

  “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  “And it doesn’t mean you have to do something about it in every instance.”

  “Overstatement. When I know something is amuck and I have the wherewithal to thwart it, I have to do something.”

  “Thus the applecart metaphor,” she said.

  “To the point.”

  “So, what have you done now?”

  “You know that pile of money I mentioned to you, … the money that Wilkerson was paid for the hologram on the flash drive by the crime syndicate in Thailand?” I began.

  “Oh, my …,” Starnes interrupted. “Tell me you didn’t.”

  “I did.”

  “Then it’s not over.”

  “Not by a long shot.”

  “We might as well go back into hiding,” she said.

  “Look around you. I think we’re still hiding.”

  “Hiding from what?” Rosey said as he entered the kitchen.

  I brought him up to date with the same revelation I had just shared with Starnes. He sat down at the small kitchen table and toyed with the pepper shaker.

  “You think Wilkerson knows it was you?” Rosey said after pondering for a minute or so.

  “Directly? Probably not. There is no way to connect me. But, since we are the prime adversaries in this drama of his life, he knows. Or he will begin with us.”

  “And you don’t believe that the Sai Leek-person you told us about informed him?” Starnes asked.

  “I don’t … chiefly because she did not verify that it was me until after she had departed company with him at the restaurant.”

  “She could’ve called him back and told him it was you,” Starnes added.

  “She made it clear to Thad that she didn’t like him. I have serious doubts about her willingness to help him try to get his money back. I don’t think she would tell him anything. Besides, she got what she wanted. And the money wasn’t hers.”

  “What if he thought that her boss was behind the theft of the money?” Starnes asked.

  “I can’t imagine Sai Leekpai being afraid of Thaddeus Wilkerson,” I said. “I can’t imagine her being afraid of anyone.”

  “Not even you?” Rosey said and smiled.

  “Especially me. I had a gun and she had this knife-thing … the sai, she called it. She merely walked away from me and I had my gun drawn.”

  “She can throw the sai, you know,” Rosey said.

  “I drew my Glock, challenged her to do something, and she merely put it away.”

  “So much the better for you,” he said.

  “Would this Phueng Pen-Chan and his associates really care that you stole Wilkerson’s money? They bought something and they have what they went after,” Starnes said.

  “I think she has a point,” Rosey said. “The Thai crime boss would not bother to come for us.”

  “Okay. Logic dictates that you two are correct. But, if you don’t mind, I’ll keep looking over my shoulder for that female from Bangkok. I don’t want to dance with her,” I said.

  “Speaking of dangerous females,” Rosey said, “where is that other friend of yours?”

  “Don’t know. She was with Marvin the last time I was here,” I said. “Maybe Marvin knows.”

  The three of us joined Marvin and Laurel on the front porch. The dogs were sleeping. Sam was snoring. Dog was merely breathing loudly. We thanked Marvin for the delicious meal again and he thanked us for cleaning up the mess.

  “Anyone who can cook like that deserves to have some extra kitchen help to do the dishes,” Starnes said.

  “Where’s Diamond?” I said to him.

  “I have no idea. She was gone when I awoke this morning. I assumed that she was doing her daily surveillance. She did that a lot, you know. She would walk or drive around the area. When I asked her what she was doing, she would only say she was paying attention. Her words, paying attention.”

  “Probably means that she is lurking somewhere,” Rosey said.

  “Stealth is a forte,” I said.

  “That and murder,” he said.

  “Murder?” Laurel and Marvin asked in unison.

  “I thought she was a trained professional policewoman, like you, Miss Evans,” Laurel said.

  “Me, too,” Marvin added. His statement didn’t sound as convincing as Laurel’s.

  “She is trained, but not by any law enforcement,” Rosey said.

  “We don’t know that, exactly,” I said.

  “True enough. There are volumes about Diamond that we do not know,” Rosey said.

  “Just like there are volumes about you that we do not know. Right, Mr. Washington?” Diamond appeared as if out of nowhere from the side of the house, moving from the dark shadows into the light cast by the front porch beam.

  “Where have you been? You missed our festive meal,” I said to her.

  Diamond walked to the edge of the porch and stopped.

  “Probably should turn out that porch light. Makes for an easier target,” she said.

  “Should we still be concerned?” Starnes asked. “The Feds have sent word that Rosey is no longer someone they are seeking. Whatever it was, it’s over. What is there to be concerned about?”

  “Plenty,” Diamond said. “In fact, I would recommend that we all turn in for the night and get some rest. Tomorrow morning we’ll gather after breakfast and devise a plan.”

  Laurel opened the screen door to Marvin’s living room and switched off the front porch light. Night fell on us.

  “A plan for what?” I said.

  “Avoiding death,” she answered. “Marvin, do you have sufficient bedding for all these people?”

  “Two extra beds and some sleeping bags. I think I can accommodate everyone, if they’re willing to rough it for a night or two.”

  “Just one night will do. Tomorrow will bring new adventures,” Diamond said.

  I had no idea why Diamond was still concerned with our situation. At least the part where Rosey was being hunted seemed to be finished. That was my thinking. Although, I must admit that I did not trust a
ll of those government-type people who were clamoring for his skin. Once upon a beginning it had been Thaddeus Wilkerson and his dubious thugs who came calling. Then, Thad increased the pressure by getting the FBI involved in the chase. I was still not sure just how old Thad pulled that off. Must’ve been his friends in high places or some such kindred notion. Unless Thaddeus actually believed that he had his billion dollars secured and was heading for it, it made no sense that he would simply leave Rosey alone.

  Sooner or later, Thaddeus Wilkerson would discover that his elaborate payday was an illusion. His billions were gone. I would likely be the first person he would call once that occurred. Call would be a euphemism for exacting vengeance.

  “Follow me,” Marvin said as Laurel and Starnes left the porch with him. “I’ll show you where you can bed down for the night.”

  They left the three of us in the nighttime darkness.

  “You know something we should know?” Rosey said to Diamond.

  “Tomorrow morning will be soon enough to discuss our options.”

  “If they’re coming after me, I want to know it sooner rather than later,” he said.

  “Okay, they’re coming after you,” Diamond said.

  “Maybe I should leave now and head back into the hills.”

  “Dawn will be soon enough. As you know, night travel is difficult at best,” Diamond said.

  Rosey went inside and left the two of us on the dark porch. There was sufficient starlight for me to see Diamond move away from the porch and head towards the grove of trees I had been admiring earlier in the day.

  I followed her.

  “You want to talk,” I said.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “All ears.”

  “Someone in Thailand called me.”

  “World-wide contacts you have.”

  “My name is out there.”

  “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

  “They wanted to hire me.”

  My heart sank. I knew where she was going before the words came out.

  “Me or Rosey?”

  “You.”

  I was relieved, but only a little.

  “So they have no idea that you and I ….”

  “No,” she interrupted. “We’ve somehow managed to keep our relationship on the down-low.”

  “You could have killed me from the shadows.”

  “Anytime.”

  “So you told them no.”

  “I told them I would consider it, if the price was right.”

  “So much for friendship.”

  “Didn’t know we were friends.”

  “Close proximity,” I said.

  “Perhaps.”

  “And is the price right?”

  “I gave them a number. They said they’d call back.”

  “Yikes. Giving me a running start?”

  “Not really. More like stalling to keep the hounds at bay.”

  “If you say no, then they’ll hire someone else.”

  “More than likely.”

  “But if you say yes, and don’t do it, then your reputation is shot, to turn a phrase, so to speak.”

  “That, and they’ll come after me. I can’t take their money and not do it.”

  “So the money for this type of work is split, half up front, half later?”

  “Not with me. The money all comes up front.”

  “Some reputation you have.”

  “Spotless, except for that thing a few years ago with you and Rosey.”

  “Yeah, that thing. That thing must not be on the available radar,” I said.

  “Apparently not. I keep my failures to a minimum.”

  “And it’s how you stay alive, too,” I added.

  “Yeah, that too.”

  “So what’s your assessment regarding this new twist?”

  “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into, Ollie,” she said.

  “Humor. You have a sense of humor. Who knew?”

  “One more fact you might want to know.”

  “Sharing is good.”

  “Roosevelt Washington is no longer a target.”

  “That’s what the Feds told Starnes and she informed us.”

  “But she didn’t tell you why.”

  “Explanations are not their normal routine.”

  “Wilkerson was pressured by his Thailand negotiators.”

  “To leave Rosey alone?” I said.

  “Precisely.”

  “Curious. How did they know that Rosey was involved?”

  “They knew he was the one who took the box and the flash drive in the first place,” she said.

  “But how did they know that Wilkerson was tying up his loose ends?”

  “Whenever they do business, they make sure that they know as much as possible about the people sitting across the table from them.”

  “Reconnoitering.”

  “So what is Rosey to Phueng Pen-Chan?” I said.

  “Nothing.”

  “So why have Wilkerson call off the dogs?”

  “Because Sai Leekpai told him to do so.”

  “And her interest in Rosey?”

  “Better ask Rosey,” Diamond said.

  “Easier than asking Sai,” I said.

  44

  It was 6:30 and breakfast was finished. The dogs were enjoying the leftover scraps. Laurel and Marvin were washing up. Rosey and Starnes had been our chefs for the full course meal. Name something of a breakfast reputation, and we had it. Quite filling.

  If this was to be my last meal, my exit would be quite stylish. No regrets.

  Rosey invited me to jog with him. He said he was getting stiff after all that hiking and nearly two days off from any exercise. We headed out on the hardtop and then found a dirt road a few miles towards the high mountains. Five miles into our jaunt, we stopped to catch our breaths and walk out some kinks. I had to stop due to the amount of food I had consumed an hour earlier.

  The sounds of a mountain stream caught my attention and the water invited me to take a closer look. Rosey followed.

  We found a spot near the water free of weeds and well traveled in light of the shoe prints around the shoreline sand. I guessed this to be a place frequented by the local fishermen when I spotted some barely visible fishing line and a broken lure among the rocks. We parked ourselves on some perches provided by nature. I sat on a large boulder near the water. He straddled a maple tree fall that almost made it across the stream.

  “You and Diamond forge a plan for our motley crew?” he said.

  “Not yet.”

  “And you actually believe the Feds have called off the dogs on me?”

  “Yesterday morning, I did not. Rigid skeptic.”

  “And this morning?”

  “A little more flexible, resilient. I am moving into that dubious belief.”

  “What changed?”

  “Diamond.”

  “And you trust her.”

  It was a statement, not a question at all.

  “A sight more than the Feds. She does her homework.”

  “Dangerous business trusting a professional killer,” he said.

  “It’s how she stays alive.”

  “Humph,” he grunted. “Yeah, for her, but not necessarily for you.”

  “And what about you?”

  “I don’t trust her.”

  “Does that also apply to Sai Leekpai as well?”

  He froze. He wasn’t expecting the connection or the question. At least not from me. There was no witty comeback, no bantering, and no denial. He smiled as he stared at the water below him.

  “What do you know?” he asked.

  “Only that she used her not-so-subtle powers of persuasion to force Thaddeus Wilkerson to end the hunt for you. She sent him word – desist or else. That’s the way it was delivered to me.”

  “Oh. Well, never underestimate the powers of a woman.”

  “I never do.”

  There was silence. We both listened to the sound o
f the water flowing by us rapidly. It’s hastening pace created an ambience of apprehension.

  “You want to know how I know her,” he said.

  “Only if you care to tell me. Our friendship has no strings attached. Such knowledge might help. But then again, if you need your secrets, then keep them.”

  “And you’re curious,” he said.

  “My nature.”

  “Aching to know?”

  “Not that much. I still trust you, but, I am inquisitive since you continue to judge Diamond harshly because, as you say, she is a professional killer … and now word comes to me that one Sai Leekpai whose professional reputation comes in line with that of Diamond has a history with you. Some kind of involvement, so to speak. That means I would like to know what you think is the difference between Sai and Diamond, besides their ethnicity, and your secret.”

  “We met on my mission to Bangkok.”

  “The Wilkerson mission.”

  “That one.”

  “And the circumstances?”

  “We passed some time together,” he said.

  “I don’t need to know specifics.”

  “Let’s just say that we found each other mutually stimulating.”

  “Did you know who she was at the time?”

  “I did. She tried to kill me.”

  “And you ended up sleeping with her?”

  “A gentleman should never kiss and tell.”

  “You both wanted the same item … a mutual goal,” I said.

  “The object had mutual appeal. I simply got to it first and left.”

  “No grudges from her?”

  “Maybe some professional envy, but … what can I say? A relationship like that is not really meant to last.”

  “She must still favor you,” I said. “Or, she wants to kill you herself.”

  “It could be either. I’m hoping the former.”

  “I’ll bet you are. And your bias against Diamond?”

  “Hard to know the source for that. I guess if I were to be completely honest, I would have to confess that I was a little infatuated with Sai Leekpai. That could be the difference.”

  “Likely is. Good that you can see it.”

  “I see some of it. Diamond has not proved herself to me as she has to you.”

  “Comes down to trust.”

  “I know,” he said. “And I’ll continue to keep an eye on both of you for different reasons.”