Deception

by Dan Lawton

  I certainly do.

  He shot him in cold blood, and he did the same to my brother, and he was going to do the same to me. My squatted knees get weak and I fall to my backside at this realization. What goes around comes around, motherfucker.

  Now that I’ve done it, now that I’ve gotten the money and the guy my father never could, I wonder what he would say. If he were still alive, I wonder what he would do. I wonder if he’d be proud of me.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  GEORGE

  The van pulls into the garage of the old police station for the final time, and Billy and I exit our adjacent doors at the same time. He opens the door that leads to the long corridor lined with offices, and we walk inside. I had asked him three times why he called the cops, but he refused to speak the entire ride. Sometimes I wonder if he’s bipolar or something. Alicia is sitting in a chair waiting for us as we make our way into the first door on the right. She pops up from her chair as we enter.

  “Oh thank God,” she says, “you had me worried sick.” She looks back and forth between Billy and me, then pauses when she meets my eyes. “Both of you.”

  I look away as I’m still not sure what to think.

  She turns her attention back to Billy. “What the hell happened? You were supposed to call me.”

  Billy shrugs. “Phone problems.”

  Alicia stares at him and ponders this, then she leaps into his arms and embraces him. Billy drops the bag to the floor and wraps his arms around her. They hold the embrace a bit longer than expected before she leans back and plants her lips on Billy’s. I’m standing next to them, so I can’t see what’s behind, but I think she has a handful of his buttocks. The act is cruel as I’m forced to stand there and watch while Alicia, the woman I thought I loved, throws her tongue down Billy’s throat. Heartbreak fills the void in my chest left from the since escaped anxiety knot, and I’m forced to look away.

  They finally release from their intimacy and I look back to them. Alicia sneaks me a subtle glance as Billy releases her. It almost looks like she winked at me, but obviously she did not. The high stress levels and lack of sleep and nourishment are finally catching up to me I think. I’m just waiting for the mirages to begin.

  “Will you answer my question?” I ask, which captures both of their attention. Billy pretends to not hear me. Alicia looks at him and urges.

  “What question, Billy?” she says.

  He still doesn’t respond.

  “I’m trying to find out why your prince charming called the cops before we left the house,” I say.

  “What?” she turns to Billy. “No you didn’t.”

  “Yep, he did, and he won’t tell me why.”

  Both Alicia and I stare at him, applying pressure. After a brief pause, he caves in.

  “Fine,” he says, “if you want to know why so fucking bad, I’ll tell you. I called the cops because no one has believed me, okay? The Zved’s killed my father, so he thought my judgment was cloudy or something, I don’t fucking know. I wanted him to know it was me.”

  “Who’s he?” I ask.

  “The Sheriff, the ass hole that took over for my dad after he died.”

  I’m not totally following, but I let him go on.

  “I told him they were still at it and that they were going to strike again, but he didn’t believe me. If he wasn’t going to do anything about it, then I was. That’ll teach him to not take threats seriously.”

  “So this is personal for you?”

  “You’re damn right it’s personal! They killed my father and my brother. I wasn’t going to let them do me next.” He pauses. “Yeah, that’s right. I bet you didn’t know Frank was my brother, did you?”

  I glance to Alicia, and her eyes open wide in fear. I decide not to sell her out.

  “No,” I agree.

  He chuckles to himself. “I knew you had no idea what the fuck was going on. You let me play you like a fucking puppet.”

  I don’t respond to his jabs, as I know he wants me to react.

  “Why do you think we picked you, huh? You’re just a fucking loser with no family and no friends, and no one would even notice you were gone. If nobody cares, the police won’t either. Trust me when I tell you that, I would know. They have too much other shit to worry about besides some loser who’s missing. They would just assume that you just up and left and went somewhere fresh for a new start. I’ve seen it a thousand times.”

  This hits me like a ton of bricks and I’m speechless. This all goes deeper than I thought. Alicia glances at me again and her eyes offer her sympathy. I manage to muster up the courage to respond.

  “So all of this was a setup? It was all just a personal mission for you?” I say.

  “That’s right.”

  “What about the money?”

  “What about it?”

  “Why is it so important to you if this was all about revenge?”

  Billy chuckles to himself again. “You think I could go back to being a cop after what I did? I used my state issued gun for Christ sakes! They’ll connect me to the murders by the morning. By then, I’ll be long gone.” He looks to Alicia. “We’ll be long gone. And we need the money to help us disappear.”

  “And how do you intend to do that? What if you get caught in Mexico? Won’t they just send you back?”

  Billy shakes his head. “I’ve got that covered too. I’ve got a boat lined up that I’m going to buy, in cash, and we’re going to sail across the Yucatan Channel through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. 135 miles and we crash into the shores of Cuba, home free.”

  “You’ll never make it,” I say. “The Coast Guard will never let you through.”

  Billy puts his arm around Alicia and pulls her toward him. She doesn’t resist, but she’s clearly not enjoying it.

  “We’re just a couple of citizens trying to return from vacation.” He smiles and the pride oozes out of him.

  “Huh?”

  “Our little lady here is a Cuban citizen,” Billy motions to Alicia, “here on a work visa. We’ll get married before we leave Mexico and we’ll sail right on in.”

  I stand in silence as I try to put all of the pieces together. Something is missing.

  “You won’t have a green card,” I say. “Besides, they’ll just send you back once they find out what you’ve done.”

  “Wrong again. There is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the U.S.”

  “That still doesn’t solve the green card issue.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Her father works for the Justice Department for the Cuban government. He’ll make a few calls.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  “Oh, I think so. People will do just about anything for a couple million bucks. An early retirement in return for a favor for his own daughter and her new husband, I like my chances.”

  I sit down in one of the chairs that are next to me against the wall and try to comprehend all of this. He’s thought of everything. But there is still one thing that doesn’t add up though.

  “What were you going to do with Frank? What if he didn’t die?” I say.

  “He was expendable. Besides, he was really excited about Mexico. He would have loved it there anyway.”

  “You’re a real son of a bitch. A real cold-hearted bastard.”

  He shrugs and shows no remorse. “Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. It’s everyone for themselves out there.”

  I can only shake my head at his ruthless remarks. I pull myself up from the chair and approach the door. “I don’t even want to look at you anymore. You disgust me. Just give me my money and you’ll never see me again.”

  Alicia snaps her head around and looks at Billy. “What money?” she asks.

  “Nothing,” Billy says.

  “He said he wanted to give me some money when we were in the van, after we dropped you off,” I say, directing it to Alicia. She continues to stare at Billy.

  “And he said he didn’t want my money,”
Billy says.

  “Well I do now.”

  “Well that’s just too fucking bad. I wasn’t ever going to give it to you. I figured if you thought you’d have some money coming to you, you wouldn’t run off with the whole lot. You needed a little skin in the game.”

  “Just give it to him,” Alicia says. “How much did you promise?”

  Seemingly unprompted, Billy raises his hand and swings it at Alicia, smacking her across the face with the back of his palm. “Shut up, bitch!”

  Alicia holds her hand to her face and stares back at Billy. I can tell she’s trying not to cry. “If you ever-”

  “If I ever what? What are you going to do?” Billy says. “I’m getting pretty fucking tired of you always sticking up for this loser.” He faces me. “Now you get the hell out of here before I decide to shoot you in the back on the way out. I don’t ever want to see your face again.”

  I brush past him and walk into the hallway. I refuse to look at Alicia as I walk by. Before I exit, Billy stops me.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” he says. I turn and look at him. “Make sure you turn the shirt inside out before you get out of here. The cops will find you before you leave the county looking like that.”

  I look down at my shirt, which is stained with my bloody handprint from when my callus had opened earlier. He smiles at me, now calm and relaxed, and it almost seems like sincere advice. All I want to do is throw myself at him and tear his teeth from his gums. Instead, I make the short walk down the empty corridor and head for the garage. I flip my shirt inside out before exiting to the street.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  BILLY

  My revenge is complete, so I head out to the shed to get George so we can get the hell out of here. The wooden door creaks open and I let it slam behind me. I crouch down to the cluster of connected floorboards and slide my fingers underneath. The nails slide out slowly from the edges of the planks and pop out of position. The nails are warped from the repetition of being removed so many times. The door’s steel brace isn’t being utilized, so the planks come loose once the final nail pops out.

  I can’t see down the black hole, but I feel the heat of George’s body from deep inside. I yell down to him, and he makes his way back above ground shortly thereafter, tossing the cash up first. I immediately grab the bag, unzip it, and do a quick scan of the contents. Without counting, it looks like it’s all there. My strategy has worked, so I put my gun back in its holster.

  George can live.

  I help George climb out of the bunker, and a sense of relief comes over his face when I confirm that the business has been taken care of. He insists on seeing for himself, which I can understand, so I lead him inside through the downstairs. I carry the bag with me, not willing to let it out of my sight again.

  Upstairs in the living room, George stops in his tracks when he sees the bodies, and he looks like he may vomit again. I would have thought he would be used to seeing dead bodies by now, but he must not have the stomach for it. Not everyone does. He scurries over the two dead men and rushes out the front door. I think I hear him gagging on the stoop. I take one final glance at the bodies on the floor before joining George outside.

  “Who are they?” George asks as he turns to face me once I walk out onto the steps. It appears as he was able to fight off the regurgitation this time.

  “I’m not sure,” I say, which is a partial truth. I’m not about to indulge him in my personal matters, even at this stage in the game.

  He heads to the van at my request, as there is one more thing I have to do before we can leave. Once he hops in and closes the door, I remove the disposable phone from by pocket and dial the Topeka Police Department. From the automated menu, I type in Sheriff Jack Hearns’ extension and wait as it patches me through. He picks up on the third ring.

  “Sheriff Hearns,” his voice is clear on the other end, and I waste no time in getting down to business.

  “Jack, it’s Bill.”

  “Bill, how are you doing? How’s your brother?”

  “Not so good, he’s dead.”

  “Dead! I’m so sorry, Bill. What happened?”

  “The Zved’s got him.” I can picture Jack rolling his eyes in his office, and he sighs deeply. I continue before he can cuss me out, “His body is at 31 Lake Street. He’s in the bathtub. There are two other guys, both members of the Zved’s, also dead inside the house. You may want to bring a bunch of guys.”

  “Jesus Christ, Bill. What did you do?”

  “I told you they were planning something. I told you every time, but you didn’t believe me. You weren’t going to do anything about it, but someone had to.”

  “You can’t just take the law into your own hands, Bill.”

  “It’s too late for that Jack, it’s already done.”

  Jack takes a heavy breath on the other end, and it’s obvious he wasn’t prepared for this. “Frank didn’t really have a setback, did he?”

  “No, Sir, he didn’t.”

  “How long have you been planning all of this?”

  “Long enough.”

  There is a long silence, then Jack finally says, “Where are you?”

  “Don’t worry about that.”

  “Come on, Bill, just tell me where you are. I want to come and talk to you.”

  “Why, so you can arrest me?”

  “No, I’m not going to arrest you. I just want to talk.”

  “It’s too late for talk, Jack, I’ll be out of the country by morning.”

  It’s a lie, it’ll at least take a couple of days. Jack breaths deeply again and blows into the microphone.

  I continue, “Before I let you go, there’s one more thing you should know.”

  “What is it?”

  “Adrian Stephenson is dead too.”

  “Snake?”

  “Snake. There is a small hut out in the middle of the flatlands by the new cell tower out by Prescott Hill. Do you know it?”

  “Yeah, I know it.”

  “He’s in there, dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.” I leave out the part about him being thrown down the stairs. “Be prepared, the house is a wreck.”

  “Someone has to go down for this you know.”

  “I’ve got a guy.”

  “Did you work alone?”

  “No. I had a whistleblower.”

  “What?”

  “Look at my email, I’ve been forwarding messages from my dad’s old account. He had been receiving anonymous tips from an insider for years. I finally tracked him down, and this is what happened.”

  “Who is it?”

  “His name is George Sanders. 31 Lake Street is his address. The dead bodies are in his house and his DNA is all over the place. He’s your guy.”

  “Okay then. He’s the one we’ll go after.”

  “Why are you doing this, Jack? Why are you letting me off the hook?”

  “I owe your old man a favor, and I never got the chance to repay him before he died.”

  “I thought you told me you never knew him?”

  “I lied.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not proud of it, Bill.”

  “Please tell me, I need to know.”

  Jack pauses, then sighs before proceeding, “Let’s just say he got me out of a sticky situation many years ago.”

  “Don’t hold out on me, Jack.”

  “I don’t know how to say this. I just want you to know, before I tell you this, that I was not involved, okay?”

  “Not involved in what?”

  “I was trying to get my life straight, and I wanted out. They don’t just let you get out.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I used to work for Adrian, he was my boss.”

  I nearly drop the phone to the ground, and I’m speechless. I can’t speak.

  “I tried to get out over five years ago, but it’s a lifetime membership, like the mob. I started sending in tips to your dad, as I knew he was the one guy who was closest
to getting them. I stayed in with the group and started providing tips to your dad on a regular basis, and he almost got them. That night, the night he died, something went wrong. Adrian was supposed to be there, he was, but they had a feeling someone was talking. I had no idea, Bill, I swear.”

  I take a deep breath and try to wrap my mind around what Jack is telling me, and I wait for him to continue.

  “Once your dad got Adrian, he was going to help me get a job and help me get straight. I’ve got two little girls who are counting on me, and I needed a fresh start. I was going to work for him, as a detective. When he died, I faked my own death and disappeared. It was the only way I could get away. I never veered off too far though, as I wanted to get back at Adrian someday. I made a fake resume and got the job here in Topeka so I could be close. I still have a buddy still on the inside and he told me about what was going down, so I sent the email, knowing you had forwarded them to yourself. I’m the real whistleblower. I always have been.”

  I take a moment to let it sink in, and I think I believe him. Even so, I’m not sure how I feel about all this. It all does makes sense though, except for one thing.

  “If you wanted Snake dead, then why didn’t you ever pursue it yourself?”

  “And do what? If I show my face around there I would never make it out alive. And I couldn’t try to arrest him and risk exposing myself to everyone. He would blow my cover in a second. I needed someone to take it into their own hands. I needed someone to do it under the radar.”

  “What about the money, wasn’t it tempting?”

  “Sure, it was real tempting, but I just wanted out. I’ve had my fair share of dirty money, and I still have plenty of it. Your dad helped me get my life back, so I’m giving you a second chance.”

  I don’t know what to say, so I come out with the first thing that comes to mind, “Thank you, Jack.”

  “No, thank you. Now that Snake is gone, the Zved’s will slow down. It won’t be long before they completely disappear. I can live without fear for the first time in 25 years because of you and your dad, so thank you for that.”