Zoe moved closer to Romeo and stared into his eyes.
“Do you two have any idea where Pete Roscoe might be, sexy?”
Romeo laughed. “Like we’d help you after you tried to get us beaten to a pulp.”
Kayla smiled. “We weren’t worried. Granddad said you two would win the fight.”
“He did?” Cody asked.
“He sure did,” Zoe said, “and he was right.”
“Granddad is always right,” Kayla said. She reached out and squeezed Cody’s left arm. “You must be strong.”
Cody yanked his arm away. “Don’t even try it. We’re not falling for the sweet sexy girl act again. You two are competition, and you’re going to lose.”
Kayla pouted. “You don’t find me sexy anymore?”
Cody shook his head in consternation, then headed for the car.
“C’mon, Romeo. We’ve wasted enough time with these two.”
Romeo waved a dismissive hand at the girls before walking away and getting in the car. As they were driving off, he looked back over his shoulder.
“They’re just standing there and watching us drive away. Good, I thought they might try to follow us.”
“Maybe they’ve realized we’re through being fools for them,” Cody said.
After watching until the boys’ car was out of sight, the girls got back in their van. Farnsworth was in the rear and looking at a device that displayed a crude map with a red dot on it.
“Is the tracking device working, Granddad?” Kayla asked.
Farnsworth grinned at her.
“It’s working like a charm. I wish I had toys like this years ago.”
“What’s the range?”
“Just a few miles, so we’d better get to following them.”
“They were mad at us. I don’t think Kayla and I will be able to fool them again.”
“Yes, you will, there’s one more trick I want you to play on these boys.”
“What is it?” Zoe asked.
“I’ll tell you when the time comes.”
“Do you think they’ll lead us to Pete Roscoe?” Kayla asked.
“I’d be shocked if they didn’t,” Farnsworth said.
“They’re young, they can’t have any more experience than Zoe and me, and I doubt we could find Roscoe without your help.”
“You girls are better than you think, and so are those boys. One way or another, Pete Roscoe’s days of freedom are over.”
At a ramshackle cabin outside Bisbee, Arizona, Pete Roscoe was taking pains to keep his freedom. He had rigged up an explosive device using gunpowder and nails. If anyone came to the cabin looking for him, they’d be sorry they had.
Roscoe was not alone. He was with a man he’d once shared a cell with named Nate. Nate wasn’t very bright, and he looked up to Roscoe, whom he considered to be a master criminal. They had been cellmates in a county jail for three days and had kept in touch over the years.
Nate almost always had a can of beer in his hand, and he drank the brew cold or warm. He sipped on a can while watching Roscoe rig his bomb.
Pete Roscoe was certain that the former partner who had ordered his death knew nothing about Nate, but the man did know about the old hunting cabin. Roscoe had hunted bears with the man there once. His former partner would tell whoever he’d hired to kill him about the place, and they’d be walking into a trap.
“Did I tell you I had to move my damn trailer?” Nate asked Roscoe.
“Yeah, you told me three times.”
“Damn shopping center, but I just had the trailer towed across the highway.”
“Who owns that land?”
“Hell if I know, but I’ll squat there until they chase me off.”
“Thanks again for letting me stay with you, Nate. I’ll make it up to you someday.”
Nate smiled a gap-toothed grin.
“What are friends for?”
Roscoe ran a thin strand of fishing wire across the shack’s entrance and attached it to a nail on the door frame. If anyone opened the door more than a few inches they’d regret it.
“That’s some trap there, Pete, but what if some kids come up here and decide to play in the cabin?”
Roscoe smiled. “This is a hunting cabin, Nate. Kids aren’t allowed to hunt.”
“Oh yeah,” Nate said. Roscoe’s response made perfect sense to his alcohol-addled mind.
They were in Nate’s old truck and ready to leave as the sun was sinking from sight. Roscoe said he would drive. He wasn’t about to risk Nate getting in an accident on the way to the trailer.
Nate looked around the truck’s dirty floor, then into the back seat, which was filled with newspapers and fast food wrappers.
“What’s wrong?” Roscoe asked.
“Nothin’, I thought I brought a girlie magazine along, but I must have left it at home.”
“I’ll buy you another one at the new supermarket you told me about.”
“Damn shopping center,” Nate muttered.
Inside the cabin, Nate’s magazine rested on a table, with the old address of his trailer printed on the cover.
29
Go Wee-Wee
MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, MARCH 2018
As they waited for Dalton Geary to arrive at the house, Tanner climbed into the rear of the SUV and took the gag out of Cord’s mouth.
“You’re going to die,” Cord told Tanner, after Tanner uncovered his eyes and removed the tissue from his ears. “I don’t know what this bitch is paying you, friend, but if you keep helping her you’ll get whacked.”
“My name is Tanner.”
“Tanner?” Cord said. “The same Tanner who was out in the desert years ago?”
“That’s right.”
“Did you kill Ron and Mikey?”
“Were they Mead’s bodyguards?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re fine, but they’ll have a headache all day.”
Cord looked pleased that his friends were still alive, then said he had to pee. Tanner ignored him. Cord’s hands were cuffed behind his back. Tanner wasn’t about to let him loose, and he sure as hell wasn’t working the man’s zipper down for him. Cord would just have to hold it in.
“Where can we find Dalton Geary?”
“You might not believe this, but I don’t know.”
“I believe you. If Geary didn’t let Mead know his whereabouts, he wouldn’t confide in a peon like you.”
“I know his real name. He trusts me that much.”
“Good for you.”
Cord looked out the windshield, then squinted.
“This is Cynthia Geary’s block. I recognize it.”
“She said that she knows you.”
“Yeah, I’ve driven Mead here before. I even dropped in on Cynthia a few times myself, if you know what I mean.”
“You’ve slept with her?” Andrea asked.
“Hell yeah, Ron and Mikey too. Cynthia is a whore.”
“I don’t care about Geary’s ex-wife,” Tanner said. “But I’ll use her to track the man down.”
“What happened to Mead? Did you kill him?”
“He’s dead, just like Geary will be soon,” Andrea said.
Cord sent her a venomous look.
“You killed my brother, bitch. I’m going to make you pay for that. I looked for you. Did you know that? I hid after the shit that went down in the desert in case the cops came after me. When I figured it was okay, I went back to that house where you lived with your father, but the place had been cleaned out.”
Andrea smiled at him. “You’ll be joining your brother real soon.”
Despite having his wrists and ankles bound, Cord lunged at Andrea, as if trying to head-butt her. Tanner grabbed him by the hair and slammed him back against the seat. When Cord refused to sit still, Tanner smacked him in the throat. Cord wheezed in a breath and began to cough, that was followed by him wetting himself.
“Great,” Andrea said. “Now we have to smell that.”
When Tanner was certain Cord was still breathing normally, he duct-taped his mouth and his eyes again, then made it so Cord couldn’t hear.
A limo arrived minutes later, and Andrea smiled wide.
“He’s here,” Andrea said.
“Maybe, or maybe Geary just sent someone to fetch his ex-wife, either way it looks like she contacted him.”
“I’m starting to hate this bitch, Tanner. It’s partly because of her that my father is dead. She went to him to get help freeing herself from Geary, but now she’s aiding the man.”
“She’s got a lot to lose if he goes down. Everything she has comes from Geary.”
No one exited the limo, but Cynthia Geary came out of the house carrying an overnight bag. The bag was a vibrant lime green, while Cynthia’s jacket was electric-blue with pink polka-dots.
“Where does this woman shop?” Andrea said.
“I don’t know, but it looks like she’s leaving home for a while.”
The driver of the limo was a burly man with a beard. He hopped out and opened the rear door for Cynthia, then the limo was rolling again.
Tanner waited until it turned the corner before he followed.
“That limo must mean that Geary is nearby,” Andrea said.
“I hope so,” Tanner said. “I want to kill him and then forget all about him.”
“Thank you for helping me, although I know you want to kill Geary too, and I still owe you for saving me years ago.”
“You don’t owe me, Andrea. You were a child back then.”
“And children should be protected no matter what?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a strange man, Tanner. You’re as cold-bloodied a killer as I can imagine, and yet, you have a good heart.”
“I’m a trained assassin, not a random slaughterer.”
“Who trained you?”
“My mentor. He was an assassin too.”
Andrea laughed.
“An apprentice hit man. What happened if you failed to kill someone, did you get a bad report card?”
Tanner smiled.
“No, but I learned a valuable lesson,” Tanner said, and his mind drifted back in time to his days as Xavier Zane.
30
Boom!
OUTSIDE BISBEE, ARIZONA, APRIL 1999
Cody and Romeo arrived in the area where Roscoe’s hunting cabin was and watched it through binoculars. To call the place a cabin was to be unduly kind. It was a shack at best, and one that a strong wind could topple someday.
The plan was to keep watch until someone emerged. It was a warm day. Even if no one came outside they would still open up one of the two dusty, cracked windows.
“Does that thing even have a bathroom?” Romeo asked.
“I doubt it,” Cody said. “If not, then anyone in there should have come outside by now. We’ve been watching for hours.”
“I see fresh tire tracks, but no car or anything. Maybe Roscoe has been and gone.”
“Let’s give it another hour, then we’ll go take a look inside.”
“Deal, plus I’m getting hungry and I’m sick of eating junk. I want a steak later.”
“I’ll buy you lobster if we get our hands on Roscoe today.”
“What do you think Spenser is doing?”
“Taking it easy probably. He’s just waiting for us to show up in Phoenix.”
“I can’t imagine failing, can you?”
“No,” Cody said. “A Tanner never fails.”
Not far away, Farnsworth was looking at the boys through his own pair of binoculars. He and his granddaughters had followed Cody and Romeo by using the tracking equipment.
“Are they still watching that shack, Granddad?” Kayla asked.
“Oh yeah, but I’m guessing they’ll move in soon. I would also bet that shack is empty.”
“I hope not,” Zoe said. “I’m sick of looking for Pete Roscoe, and the sooner we find him, the sooner I can make up with Brett.”
“You girls are really sweet on these boys, but I hope you realize they gave you phony names.”
“You think so?” Kayla said.
“I’d bet on it. Those two are crafty.”
Zoe looked angry as she crossed her arms.
“Damn, and I liked the name Brett. I wonder what his real name is?”
“Romeo, I’ll take the front while you take the back,” Cody said.
“All right, dude, and be careful. Remember what Spenser said about how this guy likes to make bombs.”
“How could I forget,” Cody said.
They eased toward the shack with their guns drawn, while watching for any sign of movement. Once he was close enough, Cody could see inside the cabin and tell that it was empty.
“There’s no one here, Romeo; I’m going inside,” Cody called. As he placed a hand on the doorknob, Romeo shouted to him.
“Cody, don’t move! There’s definitely a bomb.”
Romeo came around to the front and showed Cody what he’d found near the rear of the shack. He was holding a handful of empty rifle cartridges.
“There’s a pile of these back there near the base of a tree. Roscoe must have used the gunpowder from them to make a bomb.”
“You’re right, but we still have to search this place. We’ll have to disarm the bomb.”
“I bet he rigged it to the door,” Romeo said. “Let’s break a window and get inside.”
Once they were in, they saw the strand of fishing line. It ran into an old mayonnaise jar that was packed with long nails.
“Catching those nails would be bad for our health,” Romeo said.
They unhooked the fishing line from the door, then carried the bomb outside and set it near a corner of the shack. After going back inside, they found Nate’s magazine.
“The chick on the cover is hot,” Romeo said, “but it’s the address on that label that’s getting me excited. That might be where Roscoe is hiding out.”
“Or where we’ll run into another bomb? It seems stupid to leave this laying around.”
“Nobody said he was a genius, Cody. Maybe we’re finally catching a break.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Before leaving to head to the address on the label, the boys detonated the bomb. Cody added a longer length of fishing wire he’d found in the shack to the end of the wire connected to the jar.
They were on the other side of the cabin when Cody gave the wire a hard tug, and the bomb was more powerful than they’d expected. While the shack did protect them from the force of the blast and the nail projectiles, nothing protected the old shack. The ancient structure came toward the boys as it fell over, forcing them to leap to safety.
They avoided the wall, but then the roof came free and toppled toward them. Cody rolled right, while Romeo rolled left, and the roof slammed into the ground between them.
From where Farnsworth and his granddaughters were watching, it wasn’t clear if the boys had managed to roll free of the roof. There was still too much dust blown up into the air to see.
Kayla and Zoe began heading down the hill to help the boys, but they halted when Farnsworth called to them.
“Those boys are fine. Get back up here before they spot you.”
The girls did as their grandfather asked, then saw that he was right. The dust cleared to reveal Cody and Romeo, the boys were laughing at their close call.
“They’re crazy those two,” Kayla said.
“And sexy as hell,” Zoe added.
“That dark-haired kid with the evil eyes has something in his hand,” Farnsworth said, “but I’m too far away to make out what it is.”
“I bet they found a clue,” Kayla said.
Farnsworth let the binoculars hang by a strap he wore around his neck as he smiled at his granddaughters.
“Back in the van, girls. Those boys are going to lead us right to Pete Roscoe.”
31
Hello, Mr. Smith
MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, MARCH 2018
The limo drov
e in a random pattern for over half an hour, while taking back roads. At first, Tanner thought it was meant to lose him as he followed. He soon dismissed that idea since a limo was an easy vehicle to spot even when trailing from a distance.
Tanner then assumed the irregular rambling was meant to keep Cynthia Geary from memorizing the route taken. Despite that, after emerging from a dirt road, they arrived in an area that was only twelve miles from Cynthia Geary’s home. There were no street signs, and the homes in the area were sheltered from view by woodland.
Cynthia may have gotten confused by the randomness of the driving, but Tanner knew where he was. He’d driven the SUV off the dirt road in time to see the limousine turn right. A few hundred feet later it turned left and traveled down a long winding driveway.
The homes in the area were separated by several hundred feet and the surrounding landscape was thick with trees. Tanner drove past the home’s entrance, then U-turned and backed up into the mouth of a neighboring driveway.
After stepping out of the SUV, Tanner grabbed a short-barreled shotgun from where it rested on the rear passenger seats. Behind the seats, Cord lay on his side atop the compartment that held the spare tire. Cord’s head was cocked as though he were listening, but Tanner knew that he could only make out muffled and unintelligible sounds at best.
“I’m going to walk through the woods along that driveway and see what’s what. If you hear shooting, drive back along that dirt road and wait at that little gas station we passed. I’ll meet you there when I can.”
“If you’re going to kill Geary I want to be there, Tanner.”
“This is just information gathering. Geary won’t be up there alone, he’ll have armed bodyguards. I need to know what we’ll be facing when we make our move.”
“Okay, but you be careful.”
Tanner held up a handgun.
“Do you know how to use this?”
Andrea reached inside her purse and brought out a Glock.
“I took a firearms course and I’m damn good on the shooting range.”
Young Guns 3Beyond Limits Page 11