Heart of the Devil

by Ali Vali

  “A little work out of the way so we can enjoy ourselves now. Thanks for understanding.”

  Emma glanced in the direction Vincent had walked off in. “He seems nice. Do you know him well?”

  “Vincent was one of my father’s oldest and best friends. Some people think he’s a restaurateur, and others think he’s the head of one of the largest organized-crime families in the South.”

  “That only adds to the menagerie of interesting people in your life,” Emma said, holding her wineglass with both hands.

  “True, but it should make you want to run for the farm to get away from it. In my opinion, that’s the smart play.”

  “If it is, then you shouldn’t have kissed me. That might’ve blinded me to smart moves or otherwise.”

  “I hope you don’t mind, but as your friend, I’m going to remind you of those smart moves every so often.”

  “I don’t mind at all, as long as you agree that the decisions I make are my own.” Emma reached over and fed her a piece of the calamari the waiter had put down.

  “I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want.” She nodded as Emma held up another piece.

  The rest of dinner was similar, and for Cain the sweetest part of it was Emma’s somewhat clumsy flirting. She was sure she’d improve with practice but was honored to be the one Emma was learning with. Their conversation covered numerous topics, but the ride back was quiet as Emma held her hand in her lap.

  She walked Emma upstairs and pressed up behind her as she unlocked the door. Very slowly she ran her hands from Emma’s hips to the undersides of her breasts and smiled at the moan Emma let out. This she understood, and she wanted to touch Emma until she begged her to stop.

  Emma turned around and raised her head as if inviting her to kiss her, so she did, only this time, it was a kiss meant to ratchet up Emma’s need to match her own. She moved her hand higher and felt Emma’s nipple harden under her palm.

  “Wow,” Emma said when their lips parted. “That was wonderful.”

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” She kissed Emma’s neck right under her ear.

  “I don’t think…what I mean is…” Emma stammered a bit, so Cain raised her head. “Please don’t be mad, but I’m not ready for that yet.”

  Cain blinked, waiting for the punch line, but Emma appeared dead serious. “You want to say good night now?” she asked, stretching out the last word.

  “Yes, but I’d love to see you again.” Emma stood on her toes and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for dinner.”

  Cain was left standing in the hallway staring at Emma’s door. “What the hell just happened?” she muttered to no one, since she doubted Emma was coming back out.

  “Mum, romance might have its benefits, but charm usually gets you laid,” she said as she went down the stairs.

  “Ah, oh,” Merrick said as she stepped outside as if surprised to see her. “I was coming up to get you. We’ve got another appointment.”

  “Let’s go then,” she said, hoping whatever it was involved her hitting someone. She knew of other ways to blow off steam, but Emma would’ve been her first choice that night.

  * * *

  “Call Agent Kyle and tell him Casey’s not headed home,” Agent Logan North said to his fellow agent Ray Clifton. They’d been following Cain around for their first night after Barney had gotten the go-ahead for twenty-four-hour surveillance. Maybe after a night that almost made him gag watching the beautiful young woman with Cain fawning all over her, things would get more interesting.

  He moved to the driver’s seat and followed at a distance, not to make Casey suspicious. She was headed back toward the Quarter, bypassing the street where she lived, so she was definitely going somewhere.

  “He said if she meets with anyone on the list he gave you to call him immediately. If not, he’ll wait for your report tomorrow,” Ray said from the back. “I’m trying to see if we can pick up the conversation in either car, so get a little closer.”

  Their little convoy stopped at Casey’s pub, and they parked across the street in a spot marked for loading. “No way are you picking up anything in there with all the noise, so let’s go inside,” he said, rolling his sleeves up to try to fit in.

  “I doubt she’s doing anything out in the open, so go in if you want, and I’ll wait for you here,” Ray said, not moving.

  “You never know what she’s going to do, but from in there we’ll at least see who goes back if she’s not using the actual bar. I’m in charge, and I want you inside with me,” Logan said to the older agent that he thought had too much attitude.

  They entered and sat at the opposite end of the bar from where Cain and her people were standing. It was a good spot since it was close to the door that led to what Logan guessed was the storeroom and office. Whoever her appointment was with would have to walk right by them.

  “Too bad this is a work night,” Ray said, ordering a couple of sodas. “This is a cool place.”

  “Maybe once we bring this scumbag down, we can come back and have a drink to celebrate.”

  Cain smiled as she took the phone from the bartender. Whoever was on the line was making her laugh.

  “Here we go,” Logan said when Cain hung up and said something into the bartender’s ear.

  “What was the first name on Kyle’s list?”

  “Some guys called Jake Kelly and Bradley Draper. He said Casey might be cutting some big deal with them, and that was our way in.”

  There were no pictures of possible Casey business associates on Kyle’s list, but they had the ability to photograph anyone without being noticed. Right now, Casey was just having a beer at the bar and seemed to have already forgotten the little blonde she’d dropped off.

  Twenty minutes later, Ray said, “Logan, heads up. She’s leaving,”

  They made it outside as Casey’s vehicles pulled away, and the spot across the street had a big van with Linen painted on the side parked where their van had been. The guy unloading bar towels was whistling as they charged toward him.

  “Where’s the van that was here?” Logan screamed, grabbing the guy by the collar.

  “Hell if I know, man, but everyone knows not to park here ever. The businesses on the block are real particular about their deliveries. I’m guessing your ride is arriving at the impound lot right about now. My advice is, bring cash. Those assholes don’t take plastic or checks.”

  “Fuck,” he screamed, figuring Kyle would gut him for this.

  “Fuck is right. Now you know why you never leave the vehicle unattended,” Ray said, looking in every direction as if the van was close by. “We’re never going to live this down. You know that, right? This is like the biggest rookie move ever.”

  “Come on. Let’s at least get the damn thing back before we report in.” He walked to Bourbon Street in search of a cab. “With any luck Kyle won’t transfer us to the middle of fucking nowhere.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on that. Kyle’s wound a little tight, and this will go down in his book as unforgivably incompetent.”

  “Watch what you say,” he said, wanting to defend his new boss.

  “No one ever gets far in the Bureau by being an ass kisser, Logan, or by reporting other agents. Remember that if you’re after a long career.”

  “Got it,” he said, jamming his hands into his pockets. “And I’m not much on advice.”

  “Good to know, and I’ll make sure everyone else is clear on that going forward. Let’s just concentrate on getting the van back.”

  They cabbed it to the impound lot, and Logan sighed when the guy at the gate told them they’d have it right out. “Once we get it, we can use the transponder you placed to get back to work.”

  “Sounds good,” Ray said, then cursed when the guy came back without the van.

  “I’m not sure what happened, but we’re not sure where the van is. It got brought here, but someone from your office ordered it back to wherever you keep it, so it wasn’t here long.” The guy glanced at
his clipboard again and scratched his head. “Sorry for the mix-up.”

  “Come on. We might as well take the fucking beating we got coming tonight,” Ray said.

  “You sure you want to get Agent Kyle out of bed now?”

  “You heard the guy. He already knows. Not owning up to it now will make it look like we’re just putting off the inevitable.”

  Logan leaned against the fence and threw up while Ray called for another cab. Ray was right in that they’d be lucky to go back to a desk after this. Whatever kind of career he’d hoped for in the field was short-lived.

  “Cheer up, kid,” Ray said, standing a few feet from him. “It’s not the end of the world if you can take some teasing. I won’t lie. Tomorrow’s going to be brutal, but it’s not career-ending.”

  “I hope so, since I want the chance to rip that bitch’s heart out. Because as sure as I’m fucking standing here, that’s who got our ride towed.”

  * * *

  Cain entered the room in the basement of the old but massive abandoned building in New Orleans East and rubbed her fingers together. She could almost feel the grime in the place floating around the stale air, and the smell was hard to clear from your nose without actually going outside. It had been a slaughterhouse years before, and the blood seemed to have permeated every surface.

  The guy Merrick had told her about was sitting in a chair glaring at Billy, and she could hear his heavy breathing from fifty feet away. She couldn’t blame the guy since he looked like a bloody mess, so his pain must’ve been intense.

  “You think whoever you’re working for would be this loyal to you?” Billy asked, waving over his shoulder as if sensing her behind him. “No fucking way. Whoever that is would’ve given your big ass up after the first love tap. Don’t you think so, Boss?”

  “Knowing what was in store, they probably would’ve spilled their guts on the way over here,” she said, studying the guy’s license when Billy handed over his wallet. “The strong, silent type, huh?” The guy just glared at her but then turned his attention back to Billy. “You’re not looking too good, so maybe try and make it easy on yourself.”

  “He’s okay. I was just messing with him a little,” Billy said, and she laughed at the fact that the guy’s nose wasn’t exactly in the middle of his face. “I wanted him to be able to talk when you got here, so I barely touched him.”

  “So, Harold Allemande,” she said, glancing at his license again. “What’s your story?”

  “I already told this asshole, I got nothing to say.”

  “Fair enough.” She walked behind him, and Harold gave up trying to keep her in sight when Billy aimed his gun at his head. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  “Like how my boss is going to pulverize you?” Harold said and laughed. No one else joined in.

  “Pulverize. Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day, but pay attention. We’ll get to your boss, but not yet. I was thinking more about this building.” He flinched when she dropped her hands onto his shoulders. “When my father was a boy, he’d come here with his mother to buy fresh meat. They’d let her pick it from the big slabs that used to hang on the hooks still located upstairs. All that carving and gutting used to drip on the floor, and eventually it’d come through the cracks down here. I like starting down here, because all the bad stuff happened up there. Being down here gives you a chance of nothing bad happening to you. That’s how it works.”

  “You gonna talk me to death?” Harold said, and Billy cocked his gun. “Cool it, man. Don’t you have a sense of humor?”

  “I bought this place after my father told me about it, but I only come here for special occasions.” She squeezed his shoulders tight enough to make him try to pull away. “The blood and history of the old business is in its walls and floorboards, but it’s still got life left in it since most of the equipment still works as well as it did when my da was a boy.”

  “What’s that got to do with me?” Harold asked, the fear so clear in his voice that she could sense he knew what came next.

  “It’s time for some show-and-tell, Harold. Interesting name, by the way, for this line of work. Sounds like you should be an accountant living in the suburbs with a bunch of kids running around.” She watched Lou tie his feet and hands together, and Harold sat compliantly since Billy had his gun firmly pressed against his temple. “If you’d picked the kids route, I bet they’d have loved show-and-tell. I’m older, but I still like it.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I wanted to have a civilized conversation with you, but you said you had nothing to give up.” She slapped him gently and smiled. “Remember that, Harold. There’s that old saying that everything happens for a reason, and today everything that happens is because you had nothing to say to me.”

  “Why?” It was hot, but Harold was sweating profusely as Lou pulled him up and together with Billy carried him upstairs.

  “Why?” she asked as they reached the industrial meat grinder at the end of the old assembly line. “Easy answer, Harold. You could’ve stayed downstairs and had a talk in that spot where nothing bad happens, but that’s not what you chose.” She moved close to him again and shoved his head in the direction she wanted his attention on. “But the real answer to that question for you is the difference between going into that machine alive or like your friend. This thing is really handy when you have something that needs to disappear.” She made a circle motion with her fingers, and Merrick flipped the power switch. “The crabs at the lake are in for a treat tonight.”

  Harold visibly paled when his friend went in feet first. It didn’t matter how much bone was involved. All that came out of the nozzle was the kind of ground meat found in packs in any grocery store.

  “Kind of puts you off burgers for a while, but it’s damn effective,” she said when it was done, making Billy laugh. “He had it easy since our man Oliver you met at Mendel’s did him a favor by putting a bullet in his head, but believe me, you’re going to have a totally different experience. All that grinding and stopping is going to be a bitch, but you’ve got nothing to say.” She signaled Merrick again, and the loud rumble came back to life. “Believe me, when you see your feet come out of that damn nozzle, you’ll give up your mother if I ask you to.”

  “Wait…wait,” Harold yelled, squirming to get away from Lou and Billy. “What do you want to know?”

  “You sure, Harold? You were so set on staying quiet before.”

  “Please, what do you want?” Harold started crying, and he wet his pants when Lou moved him closer to the feed opening.

  “Who do you work for?” Merrick shut the grinder down as she spoke.

  “Boone Richard.” Harold tried to move the caster rollers under him to get away from the grinder.

  “Any relation to Callie Richard?”

  “That’s his twin sister, but I don’t deal with her often.”

  Cain nodded and pressed her hands together. “Where do I find Boone and his sister?”

  “Let me go, and I’ll tell you.”

  She smiled, and the tension seemed to drain out of him—until Merrick turned the grinder back on. “You think you’re holding any cards here? The game is rigged against you, Harold, and believe me, it’s no fun to play if you’re the one to go into that thing next.”

  “Boone usually meets with us at Rick’s Café in the Marigny. That’s all I know, I swear. You killed the guy that knew more than me.” He had snot draining from his nose and was shaking like she was running an electric volt through him. “Please. That’s all I know.”

  “You sure you aren’t lying?” she asked, to see if he knew any more. Even if he didn’t, she had more than enough to get Merrick and Muriel started.

  “No. That’s it. Please, I told you—let me go.”

  “It’s the least I can do for you,” she said, glancing up at Merrick, then Billy. Her brother pulled the trigger as Merrick started the machine.

  “See you at home,” Billy said as they waited for the
machine to finish.

  “Make sure the crew cleans tomorrow, and burn your clothes before you all leave. We can’t afford to be sloppy now.”

  “I’ll handle it. Go home,” Billy said.

  “Thanks. Don’t stay out late, and before you start complaining, I’m not trying to take Mum’s place. Harold only wishes someone had worried about him and given him good advice. He didn’t, so now look at him—he’s all broken up about his bad decisions.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cain glanced at her phone the next morning as she sat to put her shoes on. She had a full day, so if she wanted to talk to Emma, now was the time. Harold had definitely taken her mind off her sex life, but that was a dead subject on a new day, so she put it out of her mind.

  “Good morning,” she said when Emma answered. “How are you?”

  “I’m still in a great mood after my great night. Any regrets?”

  “I’d have ridden off into the sunset, so no regrets. Do you have class today?”

  “Two this morning, and then I’m taking a nap so I can work tonight. Will I see you at the bar?” Emma’s voice was full of sleep and silk.

  “Maybe. Depends on if I finish everything I’ve got going on. Either way, you wait for your ride, okay?” She finished with her shoes and sat back with her eyes closed.

  “I will, and I’d really like to see you sometime today, even if it’s late.”

  “Study hard and I’ll see what I can do.” She got up, knowing she didn’t have a lot of time before people would be waiting on her. She put on her jacket and dropped everything she needed into her pockets. “And if you were curious, I had a great night too.”

  “Even if…you know.”

  She smiled at Emma’s shyness. “I do know, and even then. Everything worth anything is worth waiting for.”

  “Are you sure? You didn’t exactly look happy.”

  “I was shocked, and I’m sure. You might kill me before you see what you’re missing, but I’m sure.”

  “You’ll survive, and I promise to take good care of you.”