by Matt Hilton
‘You think he’s holding her somewhere, but hasn’t finished having fun with her before handing her over.’
‘It’s not a pleasant thought.’
‘But she’s not at that site, her?’
‘I couldn’t find her. But I didn’t get to check everywhere before Cleary surprised me and the chase was on.’
‘I should’ve dragged that son of a bitch Zeke back here with us. I’d make the piece of shit tell us where Emilia is.’
Pinky’s hands had been full toting her semi-conscious butt to safety without trying to carry an unconscious man as well. The chauffeurs, thankfully bewildered by the sudden activity on the site, had come to investigate, but had backed off when Pinky waved his Glock at them, winning enough time and space to throw Tess over his shoulder and jog with her through the gate and along the track to their car. One of them had run to alert those in the meeting room, while the others had gone to assist Zeke. Pinky had driven them away at speed before any pursuit could be mounted.
‘One good thing has come out of this,’ Tess reasoned. ‘If Zeke was talking about Emilia, it tells us she’s still alive. It’s not too late to save her.’
‘Want to go back?’ Pinky dug in his shoulder holster for his gun.
‘I’m unarmed,’ Tess admitted. ‘I lost my gun back there in the mud when Cleary was throwing me around.’
‘I can get more guns,’ Pinky said.
‘It’s not guns we need.’
‘Nicolas,’ he stated in agreement.
Mention of his name acted like some kind of summoning spell. Tess heard the familiar ringtone of her cell squawking away in the purse she’d left in the car. Po. She dug out the phone, and answered.
‘Hey,’ said Po.
Relief washed the shivers from her body, but it also caused her chest to hitch, as if kick-started by a jolt of electricity. Her voice was as sharp as a slap to the face. ‘Hey? That’s all you’ve got say for yourself? Where the freakin’ hell are you, Po?’
‘Had something I needed to do,’ he said.
‘And as usual you ran off and did it all by yourself! Jesus, Po, we’ve been looking all over the place for you. Do you realize how worried I’ve been?’
‘I have an inkling.’
‘A fucking inkling?’ Tess turned and stared at Pinky, who softly shook his head. A smile rode his lips again; he was as happy to hear from Po as she was. But he wouldn’t berate Po for his disappearing trick the way she was happy to.
‘You sound pissed,’ Po said, and grunted in mirth. ‘I guess it’s understandable. But at least you’re safe and uninjured.’
Pinky’s head came up, and was in danger of saying something, but Tess held up a hand and shook her head. She didn’t want Po to know what she’d just gone through. The focus should stay on him until he’d damned well explained himself. Then his words forced a way past her anger.
‘Please tell me you’re not unsafe and injured.’
‘Well, one out of two ain’t bad.’
‘Where are you, Po? We’re coming.’
‘I’m back at the hospital. Before you get all twisted out of shape, I’m not getting stitched up. Just looking for you guys.’ The way he spoke, did he really expect that she’d hang around at the hospital while he was off who knew where?
‘We’re on our way back.’ She looked at Pinky who fired up the engine and shoved the SUV into drive. ‘What were you thinking of, going off on your own like that?’
‘Best for everyone,’ he replied, and she knew he wouldn’t be moved on his reason. ‘I went to see Darius.’
‘Tell me you didn’t …’
‘Took a new approach for a change. Wasn’t it you that once encouraged me to give diplomacy a chance?’
‘It worked?’
‘It hurt.’
‘Sometimes you have to put aside pride to get the result you’re after.’
‘It’s not my pride that’s hurt. I mean literally. I tried diplomacy, Darius and his kin weren’t for listening.’ Po cut off her squawk of alarm. ‘Don’t worry. Got him to see my point of view in the end. We buried the hatchet, so to speak, for the sake of finding Emilia.’
Tess closed her eyes. The only thing that made her feel easier was his relatively easy manner. He was injured, but not too badly, and hopefully the same could be said for the Chatards. ‘You can tell me all about it when we get back. How’s Clara?’
‘Couldn’t get in to see her, but she’s not faring too well. Only Darius has been allowed in.’
‘You’re there with Darius?’
‘You expected me to walk all the way back?’
‘I didn’t expect you to run off in the first place. If I did, would I have let you out of my sight? OK, never mind all that. We’re coming.’ Tess looked at Pinky for clarification.
‘Fifteen minutes,’ he said.
‘OK. Hang tight,’ Tess told Po. ‘And you’d better be there when we arrive. There’s a lot you need to hear about.’
‘Tell me.’
‘Not on your life. If I tell you now, you won’t wait for us.’
‘Tess …’
‘Nope. You’re not going off on another damned solo mission.’
She hung up.
THIRTY-TWO
Blood trickled from his scalp, tracking a meandering route down Zeke’s forehead, before taking a sharp turn over the top of his ear and down towards the collar of his shirt. Al Keane shoved a handful of paper napkins towards him. ‘Clean yourself up, goddamnit.’
Zeke balled the tissues and dabbed at the blood, wiping up towards the rim of his cap.
‘Take the damn cap off, Zeke. You need to stem the flow not just mop it up.’
Ignoring the advice, Zeke shoved the wad of tissues under the rim, and left it in situ to catch any further leakage. ‘This cap once saved my life; pretty sure it just did so again. If I wasn’t wearing it, I’m sure that sneaky nigger woulda smashed my skull.’
‘Don’t you ever take it off? What do you do when you wash your hair, suffer separation anxiety?’
‘Who says I wash my hair?’
Keane’s face twisted in revulsion. ‘Keep the fucking cap on.’
Zeke snorted in disregard.
He was seated on one of the chairs recently vacated by Corbin’s business associates in the meeting room. He’d made it there under his own steam after being dragged back from unconsciousness by the chauffeurs who’d run to his aid. His head was throbbing, and a sharper pain marked where Pinky Leclerc’s gun barrel had impacted on his skull. He could taste copper in the back of his throat, and nausea roiled in his stomach. He was certain that if he tried to stand too quickly, his legs wouldn’t support him. He was in no mood for Keane’s bullshit. Though, to be fair, Keane was only trying to help. He was also intent on briefing Zeke before Nate Corbin returned. Their boss was currently outside bidding farewells and trying to forge continued relations with his investors.
‘I told you Cleary was out of control,’ Keane bleated. ‘Look at where he’s gotten us now.’
‘I think you owe Cleary a debt of gratitude, Al. If it wasn’t for him, none of us would be any the wiser that we’d been spied upon.’
Now it was Keane that snorted. ‘He should have raised the alarm, not gone after that woman like he did. We could have caught her and her friend, and sent them on their way without giving them any cause for suspicion. Cleary attacked her, Zeke! What do you think is going to happen now?’
‘If you’re worried she’s gonna go runnin’ to the cops, think again. She was trespassing on private property. Her and her pet nigger were armed. You really think they’re gonna complain to the law?’
‘That’s the thing! Why were they here, armed like that?’
His question was moot.
‘They’ve no idea that Emilia’s here.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I just do.’
‘And what the hell brought them here in the first place? It’s that mess you left at the Thibodaux camp. Someh
ow they’ve tied that clusterfuck to me! You assured me that the Thibodaux brothers would disappear quietly, that there’d be nobody in the way of the pipeline’s progress. Look at where that’s gotten us! Cops swarming all over their camp, and now … I don’t know who these people are, but they’re obviously looking for Emilia. And crazy-fucking-Cleary only went and gave them more reason to believe we’ve something to hide.’
‘Don’t call him crazy.’
‘Have you a better definition of his actions? What the fuck was all that howling about?’
‘What can I say? He enjoys expressing his enjoyment.’
‘Are you yanking my chain?’
‘Just telling it like it is, Al.’
‘What would he have done to her if you weren’t there?’
‘Best you never know, Keane. Just in case the cops do come here.’
Keane was already pallid, but now the blood drained out his features, leaving almost translucent skin on his temples and upper lip. He sat down heavily in the chair alongside Zeke. He placed his face in his hands and groaned. ‘A moment ago you were confident the cops wouldn’t be called.’
‘There’s always the possibility. If the Thibodauxs had just fallen off the face of the planet like I always planned, there’d be no reason for the cops to look for them. Could be different now. I’m thinking that bitch that Cleary got his hands on was the one to tip the cops off about the blood at the camp. Wouldn’t be surprised if she made a similar anonymous tip-off about some naughty goings on here. Under the circumstances the cops probably will follow it up.’
‘Then the sooner Emilia’s out of here the better.’
‘You’ve got that right, Al. Just need a minute or two to shake some of these cobwebs loose, and then I’ll get on it.’
‘And what then?’
‘Then you can tell Corbin you can carry on digging. The best way to avoid suspicion is to keep on going as normal, Al.’
‘Corbin’s business partners witnessed that madness. What if they speak about it?’
‘I’m sure Mr Corbin has enough influence to persuade them otherwise. Besides, if the cops do turn up, you tell them that you had some trouble with environmental terrorists and had to chase them off. Convince them that the anonymous tip-off has come from one of them hoping to cause you further delays. Then you demand action from the cops, that they do something to stop the damn tree-huggers from harassing you. Believe me, Al, if they think you’re adding to their workload, you won’t see them for dust.’
‘The cops aren’t stupid …’
‘Al, you’re not gonna get a visit from a Homicide detective, just some shit-kicker from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office at most. In my experience Sheriff’s deputies are the dumbest of dumb fucks, and lazy with it.’
THIRTY-THREE
Tess was conflicted.
She came from a family dedicated to law enforcement, with two brothers still serving. Her father used to be a cop, and her grandfather before him. She’d served too, attaining the rank of sergeant with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office before her injury sidelined her from duty, and since then she’d made a living as a private investigator, hoping to right wrongs in the only way left to her. Her career plan had always been to follow the family tradition, and if fate hadn’t intervened she would still be a Sheriff’s deputy, albeit higher up the ranks by now. Following Po’s action plan flew in the face of everything she had ever stood for. Those that enforced the law did not applaud vigilantism. And yet, despite the prickling of her moral centre, she was with him this time.
She wasn’t sure about the confederates Po had recruited, though. Darius Chatard, his son Francis, and a nephew called Jean had all expressed their interest in getting Emilia safely home, and were due to rendezvous with them near to the construction site she and Pinky had recently fled. Jean had even loaned Po his car – the silver Toyota Camry she’d watched skid to a halt earlier that evening outside the hospital. Apparently when the Chatards had lifted Po, his gun and cellphone had been taken from him and dumped in the car’s trunk. He’d since liberated both, along with the keys to the car.
Because Pinky’s SUV was identifiable to those at the site, Po had driven the three of them to a picnic area alongside Bayou Chene in the Toyota Camry, to wait for the Chatards to arrive. They had to wait while Darius had an injury patched up.
They had got out of the car, Po and Pinky both checking their guns, while Tess stood feeling like an amateur having lost hers. Given time Pinky could have replaced the gun for her, but time was against them. Po didn’t offer her his knife. She wouldn’t have taken it. As crazy as it sounded, she could shoot someone, but never stick them with a blade.
‘And you’re positive we can trust them?’ Tess asked, and it was simply the rewording of similar questions she’d aimed at Po since he’d informed her about their new allies.
‘If this were simply about finding Emilia, I’m not so sure,’ he said, ‘but when Darius learned that Zeke Menon was trying to work him over for cash, he hit the roof. Would you believe Zeke went to Darius and offered to kill me for him: the caveat being that Darius doubled the bounty on my head? As bad luck would have it, Zeke was with Darius when Emilia phoned home to say she was going to the hospital. I think Zeke went straight from Darius to the hospital and grabbed her there. Darius is of the same opinion, and is spitting bullets about the guy’s nerve in asking for double the money when he was planning on snatching his daughter.’
‘Says a lot about how much he cares for Emilia … not.’
‘Yeah, he has a skewed way of looking at things. Been that way for decades, so it’s hardly surprising.’
He’d already described what had happened since allowing the Chatards to snatch him. If he hadn’t, the bumps and bruises he carried would have explained what kind of parley he’d endured with Darius and his kinfolk. His right eye was almost swollen shut, and he’d a cut above his right ear, and enough scuffs and bruises about his face that made her fearful to check out his body. He walked stiffly, and favored his right arm, and she’d noted him rubbing at sore ribs more than once. He was in no fit state for a fight, but then she was hardly top of her game either. He looked like an extra from The Walking Dead, but had shooed off any attempt she made at soothing his injuries. He was more concerned about hers.
He’d looked mortified when she’d earlier slid from Pinky’s SUV and gone to him. She was building up to give him a good scolding, but when she’d spotted his disarray, and the bruises and marks on his face, her demeanor had changed and she’d dropped any admonishment in favour of a hug. He’d hissed in pain as she squeezed him, then gently pressed her away so he could study her under the Toyota’s headlights. She was shaken, a bit achy, but otherwise had gotten off lightly.
Pinky had apologized to him for allowing her to fall into the clutches of the Menon brothers, but it was unnecessary. Tess assured Po that Pinky’s intervention had most likely saved her life, and Po was under no doubt his friend had done everything he could for her. She told him then about what Zeke had promised his brother. The woman who would be Cleary’s prize just had to be Emilia, right? Who else could it be?
Nobody was under any illusion. By seeking Po at the construction site, Tess and Pinky had inadvertently stumbled on where Emilia could have been hidden. But they’d made a mistake and alerted Zeke Menon to them. He had no idea that Po had been missing, and would assume that they were there looking for his hostage. If he had any sense he would move Emilia without delay … or do something far worse to her. He could give her to Cleary as promised, but that might take too much time: for all any of them knew he could have slit Emilia’s throat and buried her under one of the concrete pilings being poured to support the new pipeline.
It was the early hours of the morning, full dark. Po had left the headlamps on to see by, and thousands of bugs swarmed in the dome of light. As they waited for the Chatards to arrive Tess again suggested calling the police without delay.
Po wasn’t confident they cou
ld help in time.
‘Down to us,’ he said, ‘and I promised Darius I wouldn’t make a move without him.’
‘Suddenly you owe that prick?’ Pinky asked, looking shocked by the suggestion.
‘I guess I do. He’s known all along that Emilia wasn’t his, but has raised her all the same. So he wouldn’t win any father-of-the-year awards, but he could’ve been an asshole about it and kicked her and my mother loose. He didn’t differentiate between her and his other kids, didn’t even let slip to any of them that Emilia wasn’t their full sister. Didn’t want any of them taking out their hatred of me on her.’
‘He’s a real saint, him,’ said Pinky, unconvinced.
‘Play nice when they get here,’ Po warned.
‘They been hounding my best friend for years, now I’ve to smile and pat them on their backs, me?’
‘If I can do it you can.’
‘What’s to stop them turning on you after this is over with?’ Tess said.
‘We shared spit,’ Po said.
‘You did what?’
He mimed spitting on his palm. ‘We shook. Feuds run long round here, but so do solemn promises.’
Tess shared a frown with Pinky.
‘Apparently gullibility isn’t in short order either,’ she said, and Po actually grinned at her wit.
‘If Darius intends reneging on the deal, then there’s not much I can do about it now. Let’s wait and see. If he comes through for us, then I’ll stick to my side of the bargain.’
‘What exactly did you promise him?’
‘Told him I wouldn’t nail his other boot to the ground.’
‘His other boot?’ Tess stared at him.
‘Stuck my knife through his foot. Only way I could pin him down and get him to listen to me.’
‘He-he! That’s what you meant when you said he was hopping mad,’ said Pinky. ‘It had nothing to do with hearing Zeke Menon was playing him for a fool.’
‘I had to break Leon Chatard’s hands, and shut up some dick called Rocco so’s he’d keep his smart mouth out of things. But all came right in the end. I think we can trust Darius, and if not, well he’s bringing along others who can be counted on. Francis is Emilia’s brother, Jean’s her cousin, and they genuinely want to help her. Y’know, if not for everything that has gone between us, I could grow to like those guys.’