Savage sat quietly beside her, his mind racing. Finally he said, “Look, we’ve tried the cops, and that’s no good. Catlow’s a good man, but he’s got to have something to work with.”
Dani looked up at him quickly. “You’ve got some kind of idea?”
Savage shook his head, and there was a determined twist on his lips. “Nothing brilliant. Like I said before, you poke a stick down a hole and see what comes out.”
“Which hole are you thinking about?”
“The only hole we’ve got—Phil Herndon’s place. I think we ought to burgle it.”
Dani’s mind rebelled against the idea. It was the sort of thing that Savage would do, but all her training went against it. She stared at him, forming arguments, and then saw that he was waiting for her to do just that. She hesitated, then after a long pause as she wrestled with her conscience, nodded, saying firmly, “All right, let’s go, Ben!”
Her agreement caused shock to leap into the eyes of Savage. He knew her very well and had fully expected her to throw the suggestion out at once. A smile touched his lips, and he suddenly reached out and put his arm around her. Drawing her close, he kissed her cheek, then released her and started the Hawk.
“Okay, we start your new career,” he said. “Dani Ross—girl burglar!”
“You’re a bad influence on me,” Dani said. “Now, how do we find where he lives?”
“You ask me that? A trained detective? Wait here.”
Dani sat in the car while Savage went into the police station. He was back inside of five minutes, saying, “Got it!”
“How’d you get it so quick? Ask Herndon?”
“Nope. Looked in the phone book.” Ben grinned at her as he started the engine, saying, “That’s your trouble, Boss. You think everything’s complicated.”
He drove out Highland Road, which was a strange anomaly of sharecropper shacks wedged between mansions worth millions. Herndon’s house was one of the more modest ones, a small stone-and-cedar affair set way back off the road on what must have been at least a ten-acre plot. The drive wound around through large live oaks, and when Ben nonchalantly turned off Highland and headed for the house, Dani stared at him, exclaiming, “What are you doing?”
“Finding out if anybody’s home.” Savage seemed to be enjoying himself. “Good chance everybody’s gone this time of day. That’s what America’s come to—no little mothers home tending the kiddies. Gone to the office and parked the kids at daycare.”
The carport was a huge affair built on one side of the house, and there were no cars in it. “Stay here while I see what we’ve got,” Savage said. He got out of the car, walked to the door under the carport, and rang the bell. Dani watched as he stood there waiting, and finally after several tries, he turned and motioned to her. “Nobody home,” he called out.
Dani got out of the Hawk, and when she got to the door, she found that he had already opened it. He was putting a credit card back into his billfold, and nodded cheerfully. “Good thing Crimestoppers doesn’t let folks know how easy it is to open these simple locks.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside. When Dani hesitated, he turned with one eyebrow lifted. “Well—you comin’ in or not?”
Dani moved inside, feeling extremely nervous. “What if he comes back while we’re here?”
“Then he’ll catch us,” Savage said practically. “But we can hear the car coming, so I figure we can get back outside in time to convince him we’re selling aluminum siding or something. Come on.”
Savage moved through the kitchen and passed down a short hall that led to a study. “You go through that desk over there,” he nodded. “I’ll check his bedroom.”
“All right—but let’s hurry.”
“Haste makes waste,” Ben said severely, then turned and disappeared down the hall.
Dani moved to the desk, an old rolltop that had been meticulously restored. It was not locked, and soon she was going through the papers and documents. Herndon evidently kept most of his records here, for she found his income tax records in one file drawer. A quick glance at the past year’s taxes made her wonder, for it seemed a small income to own such an expensive house. He was, she discovered, a careful bookkeeper, retaining receipts, even from Wal-Mart, going back five years.
But despite the plethora of papers, there was nothing in the desk that would prove that Herndon had anything to do with Cory Louvier—or even with Lila Dennois for that matter.
“Hey—come see!”
Dani looked up and saw Savage standing in the doorway, a wide grin on his face. She scrambled to her feet and followed him down the hall into what seemed to be the master bedroom. “What is it?” she whispered.
“What are you whispering for?” Ben asked loudly. “Nobody here but us burglars.” Then he pointed to a wall safe with a door that stood open. A print of one of Hopper’s paintings was leaned against the wall, which obviously had been used to conceal the safe.
Dani gave Ben a startled glance. “How’d you get that safe open?”
“Cheap safe,” he shrugged. “Opens with a key—and anything that opens with a key can’t be hard to handle. Look inside.”
Dani moved to the safe, reached inside, and took out a small green box made of some sort of metal. She opened the lid and saw that there were three rings and a Rolex watch inside. One of the rings was the largest ruby ring she’d ever seen—with a band made out of a golden serpent. She looked across at Savage who nodded. “Bingo!” he said. “That’s got to be the ring Cory Louvier was flashing around.”
Dani turned her eyes back to look at the ring. “Will this be enough for Catlow?” she asked.
“I’d guess it might. It’ll be interesting to hear Herndon explain how it got off her finger and into his room.”
“Do we take it in?”
“No. We go tell Catlow about it. He gets a search warrant and finds it himself.”
Dani put the ring inside the box, closed it, and replaced it in the safe. Savage came to close the door, and when it clicked, he replaced the picture. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, and the two of them left the house at once.
As they drove away and headed for the police station, Savage said, “This will be circumstantial, Dani. It’ll take more to get Prejean off the hook.”
“I know.” Dani looked across at Savage, then asked, “I have a feeling you have another idea. And why do I have this feeling it’s something illegal?”
“You hurt me with suggestions like that!”
“It’d take a crowbar to hurt you! What is it?”
Savage began to explain, and Dani listened carefully. By the time they pulled up in front of the police station, she was convinced.
“I’m going to hate being married to you,” she said suddenly. “You have such a—a devious mind!”
“Yeah, but I can do one-hand pushups!”
“Well, that makes it all right,” Dani smiled. She put her hand over on his, and said quietly. “We’re going to have a fine time, aren’t we, Ben?”
“The very best, Dani!”
20
The Trap
* * *
Phil Herndon was tired, but happy.
“I’m going home and sleeping for twenty-four hours, Grace,” he said to his secretary. “If anybody important calls, tell them I’m in conference with the governor, and that I’ll get back to them.”
“Yes, sir.” Grace Thomas had learned long ago to conceal her contempt for her employer. She did it now out of pure reflex, smiling as she said, “Will I be your secretary when you’re elected attorney general, Mr. Herndon?”
Herndon came over and ran his hand down her arm. “Why, you and I will be going up together, honey,” he said. “Course, you’ll have to be a little less formal—”
The woman kept her smile, saying, “You’ll be in the big time after that election, and it could be just a stepping stone to something even bigger.”
Forgetting his impulse to pursue his secretary, Herndon let his thoughts jump ahea
d. He was a man of overpowering ambition and had spent the day courting prospective supporters. It was something he did well, but it was tiring. They were all careful men and demanded more than any official would be able to give, but he knew how to play them very skillfully.
“Good night, Grace,” he said, thinking of how he could put his prospective opponent in the race out of the running. Leaving the building, he went to the parking lot and got into his Corvette. The luxury of the car pleased him, and he enjoyed out-gunning those who pulled up beside him at traffic lights—leaving them behind as he sent the car hurtling ahead with a scream of the tires.
He pulled into his driveway and thought for one moment of his wife and son. He’d built the house for them but had lost them in a nasty divorce case. He hadn’t loved either of them, but any man with political ambitions needed a showcase, a family to stand with when the television cameras were rolling.
Getting out of the car, he groped across the carport toward the door—but halted abruptly when a voice spoke out of the darkness—
“Been waitin’ for you a long time, Skip!”
Herndon thought of the .38 in the glove compartment of the Corvette, but he knew it was too late. “Who’s that?” he demanded.
“Me—Dax.”
Herndon cursed him roundly, then demanded, “What do you want? I told you never to come unless I called you.”
“I been in jail,” Dax grunted. “And from what I hear, you’ll be going that way yourself.”
“What!”
“Listen, Skip, we’re in big trouble! We gotta talk.”
“Come inside.”
When they were in the house, Dax said, “Gimme a drink, Skip. I need it!”
“Come on to the study.”
Herndon led the way to the study and poured a large drink for Fontenot, then when the big man drained it down, he demanded, “What’s all this about jail?”
Fontenot shook his head, glaring at the other man angrily. “You know that guy Savage, the one who had the trouble with the local cops?”
“Yes, I heard about it.”
“Well, he’s a rough cookie, Skip!” After taking another swallow of his drink, Dax began to speak rapidly. “He caught me off guard, Skip. Made me tell him where the woman was.”
“You told him that? You’re a fool!” Herndon said angrily. “They can nail you for kidnapping.”
“I’d rather be alive and facing that, than dead in the swamp—which is where I’d be if I hadn’t told him!”
Herndon was alarmed, but he forced himself to conceal it. “Just tell me everything that happened, Dax.” He stood there as Fontenot spoke, not missing a thing. He was a lawyer and a shrewd one. When Fontenot was finished he said, “So you told them I was the one who called you and told you to take the woman?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t have no choice!”
“It doesn’t matter. They can’t prove it, and you’d be a fool to try to drag me down with you.” Herndon sipped his own drink, going over Fontenot’s story. Finally he shook his head. “It’s too weak, Dax. They can’t touch me. As for this kidnapping charge, I’ll get that reduced—wait a minute, what are you doing out? You couldn’t make a bond that big.”
“They didn’t charge me with kidnapping,” Fontenot said. “Just assault.”
“Why’d they do that?”
“The Ross woman said she knew I didn’t mean no harm. I told them how Cory and me was kin, and she said she could understand how I could have gone off the deep end.” Fontenot thought hard, then said, “And she said for me not to worry—that Cory’s killer was about to get his.”
“She meant Eddie Prejean!”
“No, Skip,” Fontenot shook his head. “Her and Savage and that woman on TV, Sunny Sloan, they’ve all found out who done the murder. Well, the Sloan woman don’t know yet. Ross and Savage said they’ve got the proof just about nailed down. Said in a day or two, they’d have it all, and then the Sloan woman would break the story on TV.”
Herndon’s lips grew thin. “Did they go back to New Orleans?”
“I don’t think so, Skip. I heard them say something about gettin’ rooms at a hotel until they got it sewed up.”
“Which hotel?”
“I think it was the Majestic, the old one out on Airline.”
“Okay. Now, Dax, you get out of town for a few days. I don’t want any reporters or cops grilling you.”
“I ain’t got no cash, Skip.”
“Here—” Herndon fished out his billfold, removed several bills, and thrust them at Fontenot. “Call me in a few days, but don’t use your right name. I’ll tell you what to do.”
“Okay, Skip.” He hesitated, then asked, “You think I better take Lila with me? They’ll be talking to her, too, I guess.”
“Yeah, take her.”
“Take a little more dough!”
Herndon gave him more money, then he waited until he heard an engine start. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number, and after several moments, he said, “Layne—I’ve got to see you. No, right now! It’s a hot one this time. Yes, I’ll be right there.”
Hanging up the phone, Herndon hesitated for a moment before going into his bedroom. He took off his coat, pulled a shoulder harness with a .45 in it from the nightstand beside his bed, and put it on. As he pulled on his coat and left the room, he muttered, “They’ll have to go! No other way.”
Layne Russell listened quietly as Herndon spoke, his face impassive. He was a poker player of renown, and he let nothing show on his handsome features. But all the time he was listening, he was making plans. He had survived in a jungle worse than any that Africa had to offer by being shrewder and more ruthless than any of the other carnivores on the Louisiana political scene—and he had no intention of going down now.
“So the Ross woman and Savage have got us—is that it?” he asked when Herndon finally grew silent.
“That’s what Fontenot says, but you know what a simpleton he is, Layne.”
“I don’t think we can ignore it, Phil.”
“No, I don’t either. What we’ve got to do is buy them off.”
A light touched the cold eyes of Russell, and he seemed interested. “What if they won’t be bought?”
Herndon shifted nervously in his chair. The two men were sitting in a small room located on the first floor of the governor’s mansion. It was one of the few rooms not bugged, so the governor used it when he wanted to be certain that he wasn’t going public. Herndon said quickly, “I think it’s just a matter of price, but if that doesn’t work, we can put pressure on them. Have their licenses revoked.”
Instantly Russell knew that was futile. And the fact that Herndon offered it only increased the governor’s contempt for the man. “Well, you may have something there, Phil,” he said slowly.
“But we’ve got to do it quick, Layne,” Herndon said. “If that Sloan woman goes on TV with something, it’ll be too late.”
“You’re right, Phil.” Russell looked at Herndon steadily, an idea taking shape in his mind. He came to a sudden decision, saying firmly, “You’ve got to handle it, Phil. I’ll get the money, but I can’t go to them. You understand that? If anything happened to me, neither of us would be in office for long.”
Herndon nodded, but he grew wary and there was a trace of a threat in his voice as he said, “Look, Layne, I’ll handle it, but I’m not going to do time. If I get caught, you’ll be in it.”
“Why, you’re not going to get caught, Phil!” Reproach was on the governor’s smooth face, and he shook his head with a mild rebuke. “You’re a smart man—otherwise I wouldn’t have you at my right hand!” He smiled then, and nodded. “Go as high as you have to. Fifty grand—a hundred. They’ve got a price, so find it. Set up the drop, then come back and I’ll get the cash. We pay them off, they don’t sing to the reporter, and Prejean goes down. Then you and I can get ourselves into this election—and we’ll win, Phil.”
“Sure, Layne!” A burst of confidence rose in Herndon, and he go
t to his feet. “I’ll call them right now!”
“Use this phone, Phil,” Russell nodded toward the one on his desk. He sat back as Herndon found the number and dialed.
“Hello, is this Dani Ross? Okay, this is—a friend of Dax Fontenot. I need to talk to you and Savage.” A look of surprise came over his face and he nodded slowly, “Yes, it’s me. Where can we meet? No, not at the hotel—too public.” He thought hard, then said, “You know the old River Road? Well, six miles out of Baton Rouge there’s an abandoned store set back off the road. Meet me there in an hour—and no cops!”
“Good thinking, Phil,” Russell smiled. “Now, get back here as soon as you can. I want to be on top of this.”
“Sure, Layne!”
Russell waited until Herndon was outside, then picked up the phone and dialed hastily. “Johnny? Layne here. Got a job to be done, and I mean like in an hour.” He settled back in his chair, his eyes turning hard as agates. “You know where that abandoned feed store is about six miles out on the old River Road? Well, in an hour there’ll be a meeting there. Now here’s what I want you to do—” He spoke rapidly, then paused to listen for a few moments.
A frown creased his smooth brow, and he said, “Johnny, the woods are on fire. This one is for the whole thing, so don’t miss. What?” He listened, then said carefully, “Yes, Phil, too. Sorry about that, but it’s him or us. Now, call me when it’s over.”
Hanging up the phone, Governor Russell slowly leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the clock on the wall, marked the time, then locked his hands and waited.
The odor of the river came to Dani and Savage as they sat in the Hawk with the windows rolled down. Fifty yards behind them, the levee rose to conceal the brown waters of the Mississippi, and as dusk began to close in, Dani turned to look at the green banks that stretched in both directions.
They sat there keeping an alert glance on every car that appeared, and finally Ben said, “I still think you should have let me handle this.”
Race with Death Page 24