“Harper if your father would have survived the crash, do you think he would have cried for the loss of his wife? Would you have thought he was weak? Shit Harper, it makes me want to cry.”
That’s all it took, Harper cried for the loss of her parents, something she’d actually had never done. She stood up out of the car and embraced Faxon, crying on his shoulder. After a few minutes she took a t-shirt out of her bag wiped her face and blew her nose. She picked up a smaller empty athletic bag in the back seat and stood close to Faxon.
“You ever tell anyone about this and I’ll make you sorry you were born.”
He smiled as she walked away. He knew crying was something very rare for this tough young woman.
In the bank the girl at the help desk took someone’s name in front of her and asked them to have a seat and someone would call them soon. Harper removed her sunglasses, her eyes were red and her makeup gone from her cry, she was still embarrassed from the incident at the car.
“Can I help you Ma’am?”
“I want to see Jackson Trent,” Harper said.
He was the bank president.
“Do you have an appointment Ma’am?”
“No, tell Mr. Trent Harper Lewis is here to see him, and I’m not going to wait.”
The young girl looked at her funny but left the front desk and walked back into the offices and in a moment came back with Jackson Trent behind her.
“Harper it’s not very often we get to see you actually in the bank, I’m sorry to keep you waiting please come to my office.”
Harper sat down and before Mr. Trent could even sit in his big leather chair she said.
“I’ve come to make a withdrawal from my money market account.”
“Well I can get you a cashers check Harper, how much do you need?”
“No, I want cash, fifty thousand dollars.”
“Harper that’s larger than the maximum withdrawal I’ll have to report it. How about ten thousand dollars, a little less actually, which we don’t have to report,” he said.
Mr. Trent got up and walked out of the office.
Faxon watched Harper walk out of the bank wearing her Red Socks ball cap and sun glasses he thought about how pretty she was. She opened the door and got in. They only stopped once before getting to the city, to by a burner phone.
He parked the GTO back in the garage near Ned Devine’s and he carried her duffle bag to the metal staircase behind the building that led up to the back door of the bar. This early in the afternoon there was only two waitresses working and William in the bar. Faxon carried the big duffle bag up the stairs, and Harper followed carrying the gym bag full of money and the long bag with her guns. He was trying to not be seen bringing a girl up to his room, much less carrying a large bag.
“Hey William, I just saw Faxon, he came up the back steps and went to his room,” Lyn said. “He was carrying a big bag and there was someone with him.”
“Damn Faxon, this is where you live,” William replied.
Harper looked around after dropping her bags on the floor. She looked at the small kitchen, then the small bedroom, then the bathroom, no tub just a shower. Then walked back through the small living room, it had a couch, one chair, and a television on a stand. She didn’t notice Faxon looking in the black gym bag with the money. Harper looked in the bedroom, one window, a queen size bed and a small table with a lamp that had a bowl upside down over the top. She assumed it was to mute the light, there was a small three drawer dresser and a small closet.”
Harper started picking up clothes on the floor and putting them on the bed.
“What the hell Harper, how much money did you get?”
“That’s none of your business, you ever heard of privacy. If I’m going to stay here you’re going to have to clean this shit hole up. Funny you don’t look like a slob.”
For the next hour Faxon washed dishes, filled a garbage bag with dirty clothes, and then another with trash, old pizza boxes, spoiled food out of the fridge, and he emptied the small trash can in the bathroom.
“You can stay in there,” Faxon pointed to the bedroom, “maybe we can string a line up across the room so you can hang your clothes. I’m taking this to the dumpster out back and there’s a laundry mat at the end of the block, I thought I’d drop my stuff off, I’ll be right back you need anything?”
“I’ll make a list we can pick some things up tomorrow,” Harper kept cleaning and dusting.
“What the hell could you possibly want? This is freaking paradise.”
Faxon gave her one of his crooked smiles, and she laughed.
“Let’s see air freshener, I’ll bet that bathroom smells good when you’re done in there, some scented candles, maybe a couple more towels and washcloths, hell you can see through the ones you have. Not to mention I like junk food, potato chips, ice cream, peanuts, some eggs and bacon, some bread, do you want me to go on or just make the list.”
“Ya, ya, ya, I got it.”
Faxon walked, stopped, and came back, “lock the door.” Then he was down the steps and out through the back. He tossed the big bag of trash in the dumpster then went to the Laundromat.
Harper sat on the couch after opening the window in the kitchen and bedroom. The small place looked a lot better and smelled better with the trash gone. She called Sam at the office.
“Hey, I got moved in, I wanted to talk to you, have you got a few minutes? The driver of the car that ran into mom and dad was one of them. He had the same tattoo, they were murdered Sam. I know you need someone in the office to help. I thought I could interview people for the position here in the city, if I find someone that might workout I’ll send them to you for the final interview. I want you to continue with the plans to begin the construction on the downtown site. I’ll set up an office here in the city, and get a broker to start the preselling of the condo units.”
“How you getting along with that investigator guy,” Sam asked?
“He’s ok. He was Special Forces military, he’s thrown away my cell phone so I’m using a burner phone, you won’t be able to get in touch with me but I’ll call often. Faxon knows how to keep me safe and find the guys behind this.”
“Be careful girl, and if you need anything call me, I love you Harper.”
“I love you too old man, tell Carol too, and I’ll call again soon.”
Harper called the office phone knowing Kate would pick up.
“Lewis Construction, how can I help you?”
“Kate, its Harper.”
“Harper, God girl how are you?”
“I’m alright, as good as a person can be finding out her husband tried to kill her, and killing him in the attempt, I just wish I could have made the bastard suffer more.”
“My grandmother would say you’re tougher than old shoe leather Harper. When are we going ridding again?”
“I’m afraid it’s going to be a while Kate, there’s people out there trying to kill me. I talked to Jose’ before I left and told him you might be coming out to train. And I talked to Walter he thinks you have a lot of potential and wants to work with you, so if he thinks you’re ready to show again you’re welcome to ride any of my horses.”
“Thanks Harper, it won’t be the same without you, I’ll do my best to make you proud.”
“Don’t take any shit from those pretentious bitches, and love my horses for me, you won’t be able to reach me but I’ll call again soon.”
Harper turned the television on and was watching the evening news when Faxon came back in. She had been thinking about why he hadn’t asked her for any money. Faxon set a bag down on the table and took out three scented candles, a bag of potato chips, a jar of dry roasted nuts, a can of air freshener, bacon and eggs, a loaf of wheat bread and a half gallon of milk.
Harper laughed, he threw her the bag of chips.
“I like junk food too.”
She stuffed a handful of chips in her mouth and mumbled. “We need some beer.”
“We live above
a bar, come on we’ll have dinner and a few beers, and I can introduce you to everyone.”
They walked downstairs and Faxon sat on his usual stool at the end of the bar, Harper took the seat next to him. Will opened the cooler and set a bottle of his favorite beer in front of him.
“William, this is Harper,” Faxon said.
“Nice to meet you, it’s about time you got a business partner, what can I get you to drink?”
“Same as him,” after he turned away she whispered. “You didn’t mention we had the same taste in beer at the house last night.”
“Ya, I must have forgotten, now that I think about it, you did have a refrigerator full of my favorite beer.”
“Hi, my names Lyn, did I hear William say you’re Faxon’s business partner?”
“Uh, yea, business partner,” Harper said just as another waitress walked up.
“High I’m Toni.” Lyn whispered to Faxon, loud enough for Harper to hear as she spoke.
“She’s really pretty Faxon, does she workout or something?” Lyn smiled then she was gone.
“I’m Harper, nice to meet you Toni.” You’re a lucky girl Harper, whispered Toni. He won’t have anything to do with any of us. We were beginning to think he was gay.”
“I heard that, and you’re not funny.”
The last upstairs waitress came over to pick up some drinks to take to a table. “Hi, I’m Belinda. It’s nice to know our Faxon’s finally making friends.”
“Nice to meet you Belinda,” Harper smiled.
“You’re all so funny, waitresses and comedians too,” Faxon said.
The bar phone rang and William answered. “Yes sir he is, I’ll tell him. It was the boss he’s in his office downstairs he wants to talk to you.”
“I’ll be right back,” Faxon said to Harper, “and don’t believe anything they say.”
As soon as he was down the stairs the three waitresses went right to Harper.
“Ok, come on tell us are you with Faxon?”
“You can tell us, we won’t say anything to him.”
“She’s his business partner,” William said sarcastically, “now go on get back to work.”
“Thanks for that,” Harper said. “Are you telling me he doesn’t date any of these girls?”
“Faxon has rules, and one very important rule is to never have any relations with a client, or any of the girls that work here. That’s why I knew you’re a business partner or else he’d have never brought you here. You see there was this woman. Oh great,” William said. A loud man in the bar interrupted him. “Faxon’s not here.”
“That loud guy causing a problem,” Harper questioned, “Does he work as bouncer too?”
“When he’s around, it’s a deal he has with the owner.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Harper got off her stool at the bar and walked across the room. “It’s time to leave fat boy, you’re drunk and to loud, you’re disturbing others.”
“I slap you bitch.” The big guy swung at her and Harper ducked his swing and punched him hard just below the sternum right in the diaphragm knocking the wind out of him. She slipped behind him when he bent and tried to gasp a breath of air, she kicked him behind the leg and he dropped to one knee. Harper pushed him forward onto his stomach. She put her foot up under his arm pit and wrenched his arm back and up by the wrist and dislocated his shoulder. He finally got a breath and clinched his teeth in pain. Harper grabbed a handful of his hair and bent over and whispered in his ear.
“You shouldn’t have called me a bitch. Now I can drag you down those stairs by your ankles, or you can get up and leave on your own, what’s it gonna to be?”
Harper pushed his head and it bounced off the floor and she moved away from the drunken loudmouth. She waited for him to get up. He held his left arm against his body with his right hand and walked slowly down the steps. Harper walked back to her seat, half the room clapped, William stood behind the bar with his mouth open.
“Damn girl, you got skills,” Lyn said.
William set another beer in front of her just as Faxon was coming up the steps.
“What happened to that big guy I saw leaving?”
“Oh my God Faxon, he was getting loud and started yelling at the table over there,” Lyn said, “your partner took care of him. And she didn’t break one glass or plate or chair or anything.”
William demonstrated Harpers moves explaining how she looked moving behind the guy, taking him down, using her foot as a lever and dislocating his shoulder, then whispering in his ear and letting him get up and leave.
“Faxon you definitely found a keeper,” said a regular customer that had seen the confrontation. He was a hedge fund broker, dressed in an expensive suit, he was an attractive man. “I don’t think I’d be the only man in the room that would propose marriage.”
Harper smiled, “you may want to rethink that. I killed my last husband.”
Everyone laughed, they had dinner and attention from others in the bar that just wanted to meet the pretty girl that was a lot more than she seemed.
“So what did the owner want? You in trouble or something,” Harper asked?
“No, nothing like that, he lets me borrow one of his cars from time to time, like the GTO. He keeps lots of cars in the parking garage. He noticed it didn’t come back home last night, he video monitors his collection. He just wanted to know what happened, I did tell the story to him. He’s an old friend, we can trust him, however it seems him and his wife are regulars at the horse show events and they both recognized your name. Seems you’re a big star or something, they were very impressed, I couldn’t say no, they want us to have dinner with them tomorrow night.”
“That’s no big deal.”
“Well I bet you don’t have a fancy dress in that duffle bag, and I’ll have to wear a jacket and a tie and crap, I try to avoid dressing up.”
“We can buy a dress tomorrow, and maybe something nice for you to wear, I’ll bet you clean up real good.”
“Funny, for some reason I have a hard time picturing you in a dress after hearing what you did to that drunk.”
“What else are we going to do tomorrow, remember you promised we’d look into my parent’s murder?”
“Our first stop in the morning will be my friend Lew’s house, we’ll give him Jessie Walker’s name, and your husband’s name, he already has the names of the other three guys that died in that warehouse and he’ll see if he can make a connection. If he can then we’ll start tracking anyone connected to them.”
“What about the people that are giving the orders, the man in control, he has to be the one that ordered my parent’s death. He’ll be the man behind the Marine Group.”
“The only connection we have to anyone in the Marine Group is the realtor Manuel Molina, we could follow him but it might not lead anywhere. Could be they do business over the phone or computer, we’d have to get a lot closer, that’ll take time Harper.”
“I’m tired, I’m going to bed,” she said.
“I’ll stay until almost everyone’s gone, I’ll try not to wake you when I come in. I have a key so lock the door.”
Harper went upstairs. She dug through her duffle bag until she found her old night shirt she slept in. She stretched a cord across the room and hung some of her things up on empty hangers she found in the closet. She got into bed and drifted off to sleep, and soon the sound of the door opening in the other room woke her.
Harper listened to Faxon bang his knee on the end of the couch and then the light came on. She heard him sit down and imagined him taking his shoes and socks off. In a few minutes she heard the refrigerator door close and it sounded like he laid down on the couch and the light went off. She sat up in bed.
“Damn-it Faxon, you can come in here and lay down, there’s enough room. You don’t sleep naked do you?” It was quiet. “So get your ass up and come lay down in your own bed.”
Faxon walked into the room and stood beside the bed, fluffed the spare pillow, then dro
pped his jeans and pulled his shirt over his head.
“So I was wondering why William thought I was your new partner. Let’s see, if I was a client he knew you wouldn’t have me staying here, rule one. So he figured I was your new partner, especially after I took care of that guy.”
“Are you going to talk all night?”
“You and your rules, I think it’s funny.”
The next morning when Faxon woke he yawned, and stretched. He almost forgot he had a guest until he looked up and saw the cord stretched across the room where Harper’s shirts and jeans hung. Then he smelled bacon and was glad he went to the store yesterday afternoon. He swung his legs over and slipped on his jeans and pulled his t-shirt over his head.
Harper was standing in front of the small electric stove turning bacon over with a fork. Her hair was wet from the shower. Faxon was going to sit at the small table against the wall when he noticed what she was wearing, or not wearing.
“Damn Harper, you could put some clothes on.”
Faxon turned his head and put his left hand over his eyes. She still had her night shirt on and panties but that was all.
“Don’t get yourself all worked up, rule one remember.” She laughed as she walked around him into the bedroom. “Don’t let the bacon burn.”
She slipped on a pair of gym shorts and came back into the kitchen where Faxon was finishing the bacon. They made toast in the oven and Faxon cooked eggs over easy. After breakfast he went and showered while she got dressed, Jeans, tennis shoes, and a button up the front shirt only a dark blue one today. She got Faxon to braid her hair and with the Red Socks ball cap and sun glasses the disguise was complete. After he shaved and dressed they went to the garage and drove the Jeep to Lew’s house.
“I don’t know how you can stand living in the city,” Harper said.
They had taken the top and doors off the old Army Jeep, it was a beautiful day cool and clear, the sky was blue and there was practically no breeze.
“I make a good living here.”
His cell phone rang and Harper picked it up from between the seats. “Hello.”
FIRST STEP MURDER Page 13