Dead Money Run

by J. Frank James

  “I’m okay with it. I’m just trying to win you over to my side of things,” I said.

  “And what side are you on, Lou. You just killed two men. Your side looks a little fuzzy from here.”

  I had nothing to add. I was tired and needed some sleep. I told her what we were doing and told her she could make what she wanted of it.

  “So, Lou, what’s the plan? I think I have a right to know.”

  “Not really. But since you asked, here it is.

  “In the morning we are going back to Eddie’s to pick up a car and get our new ID and credit cards for when we leave home.”

  “Why do I need new ID’s?” she asked.

  “In case you get lost,” I said.

  “Okay, then what?”

  “What’s this with the twenty questions,” I said. “You should be happy you’re still looking down at the grass and not up.”

  “You’re a funny man. I just want to know where we are going so I can be prepared when they arrest us.”

  “Nobody is going to arrest us,” I said. “We haven’t done anything yet to get arrested.”

  “No, I suppose those two dead bodies back at the pond were just part of a video game.”

  “They’re just collateral damage. Now we’re two hundred points up,” I said.

  “After we get this car in the morning, are we headed back to Jacksonville?”

  “I think you are on to something,” I said.

  “What about my friend’s car.?”

  “I’m going to give you five grand to give to her and that’s tax free. The car wasn’t worth more than five hundred bucks, assuming she could find someone dumb enough to buy it from her. Then we are headed to Jacksonville Beach to meet Lockman. I want to hear what he has to say. If he is cooperative, he will live to see another day. If he isn't, well…that will be another matter.”

  “Another killing you mean?”

  “I wouldn't think along those lines,” I said. “My sister was killed for a reason. I think I was part of that reason. It was either to get information from her that she didn't have or to put pressure on me to cough up what I knew about the money or Lockman killed her to get the money for himself. Either way he’s dirty.

  “So that’s it. Once we get to a hotel I suggest you take a shower and get cleaned up. After that, well…we’ll see.”

  The mall was bigger than I thought. It had two big anchor stores called Parisian’s and Dillard’s. I hadn’t bought new clothes in fifteen years and I wasn't sure of my size. I asked Hilary if she would come with me first and then we would get what she needed. The salesman that waited on us was helpful, but suspicious. He asked a lot of questions that I didn’t give him answers to. I told him my name and that we were new to the area. He had his name tag pinned on a store blazer over his left pocket. It reminded me of a dog tag. The tag said his name was Stanley. He probably practiced the name routine each day before heading to work.

  “Where have you been buying your clothes, Mister Addams?” he asked.

  Hilary was quick to the answer, “We are from Tennessee, Sweetie, and up in the hills we don’t have to get too fancy, but Junior here is going in for a new job at the port and he wants to look nice.”

  “Yes, I can understand,” said Stanley. “I mean, it’s not every day I see clothes like what Junior has on. They look like something someone would get from a prison.”

  “Prison,” said Hilary. “What the Sam Hill you talking about, Boy? You saying we’re convicts?”

  “No, no,” said Stanley. “I just meant the clothes are coarse like. I mean, home spun.”

  It was my turn now.

  “Look Bud, just get me a couple of shirts, some socks, underwear, shoes with no holes in the bottoms, jeans with no suspenders and a belt. I need a belt.” Looking over Stanley’s head I saw a coat that made a perfect hide for the Glock-17.

  “I’ll take that coat over yonder,” I said.

  Looking in the direction I was pointing with my chin, Stanley said, “Good choice. We just got those in. A hundred percent chamois. I think you are an extra-large. What color?”

  “He’ll take that dark brown one,” said Hilary. “Junior, you look good in brown. Remember how good you looked after that hog wrestling contest back at Daddy’s place. You were covered head to foot in pig shit.”

  Hilary had a big smile on her face and Stanley wanted us out of there.

  “I’ll take one of the blue ones. Always wanted a blue coat,” I said.

  Hilary started laughing. People were starting to gather around and stare like we were a couple of barnyard animals.

  In an hour, we had everything we needed. Hilary bought some things she never thought she would buy. When we got back to the car, we put everything in the trunk of the Mustang and drove around looking for a hotel. Driving back toward downtown, I found a hotel called the Tower River Inn in the downtown area of Savannah. It was near the Savannah River made famous by Johnny Mercer’s song ‘Moon River’ in the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Hilary hummed the song as we drove.

  “I wonder why there is so much hate in the world, Lou.”

  “I don’t know. Greed probably,” I said.

  “The song ‘Moon River’ is so beautiful. I remember seeing the movie four times. I wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn.”

  “For some reason, the name, Holly Golightly, doesn’t seem to fit you,” I said.

  Chapter 12

  By my nature, I’m not a sentimental person. Prison beat that out of me. But, Hilary was right. The world could be a bad place, but also a good place, full of hope and dreams.

  “Things could be worse,” I said. “After all, look what has happened so far. We have money. A new car and if we don’t get hit by a truck, we just might make it.”

  “You have such a way with words, Lou,” said Hilary, “and I like it that you used the word ‘We’.”

  Reaching over Hilary squeezed my hand. I felt like saying, ‘Ah sucks’, but I kept my counsel.

  “Oh look, Lou, a horse drawn carriage. Savannah is just beautiful.”

  “I suppose,” I said. “I’m not much on towns. One always seemed no better than another to me.”

  “Lou, you must have been dropped as a child. You’re too pessimistic. There are some good people in the world.”

  “Maybe so,” I said. “I just haven’t met them yet.”

  When we checked in I told the front desk jockey that we wanted the best room in the house. He said that he had just the room. When he offered to take our stuff up to the room, I told him I would handle it. I got one of the trolleys and loaded everything on it, including the duffel bag with the money in it.

  When we got to the room, the clerk was right. If it wasn't the best room in the house, it was damn close. The place had a large bedroom with one of those California beds. It was the kind of bed where it would take you a week to sleep on every square foot of it. Hilary floated into the bedroom and dumped her new clothes on the bed and turned toward me and said, “Lou, sometimes you can be the nicest killer I have ever known”

  “It’s nice to be nice,” I said.

  “Okay, Big Boy, I’m going to go in the bathroom and check it out. I feel like I haven’t had a bath in a week.”

  As I watched Hilary take her new clothes and go to the bathroom, I had one problem. How to take a shower myself and not leave Hilary to her own devices? I thought about tying her up. I had picked up a roll of Duct Tape from Eddie’s place. I would tell her that I knew her cover and that there was nothing she could do about it. If she tried to ring the bell on me I would have to kill her. Nothing personal. It was business. Just that simple.

  While she was in the shower, I checked her purse and noticed that she had not taken her cellphone into the bathroom. That was a good sign and I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I had a better plan. Taking off my clothes I walked into the bathroom to test it out.

  Chapter 13

  I watched the clock’s red numbers flashing on the nights
tand next to my side of the bed the number five. Like a beacon in the night, it signaled its warning. Someone previously had set the clock’s silent alarm for five o’clock in the morning and if I ever found them, I wanted to thank them personally. I thought about turning over and going back to sleep, but Hilary’s right breast and arm were draped across my chest.

  Last night had been a surprise for both of us. When I got in the shower with Hilary, it flipped a switch inside of me. For fifteen years, I never cared about anything or anyone except myself and staying alive. I was the center of my universe. Last night changed that.

  To say that Hilary was adding a new dimension to my life would be an understatement. Like shoes, relationships for some people were nothing more than fleeting moments of emotions and you kept them around because they were comfortable. I did not believe making emotionally based decisions. They never worked out in the end for me. At this point, I wasn’t sure what to do about Hilary. However, it was a little early in the morning to think about the future.

  Since we never made it out of our room last night, I was starving. The hotel claimed to have a first class restaurant, but at five in the morning the restaurant might as well been on the moon.

  All was not lost. The room was equipped with a small kitchen with a coffeemaker and, for starters, a cup of coffee would do. Slowly I lifted Hilary’s arm off my chest and rolled out of bed. Finding my pants, I put them on and padded my way into the little kitchen. It had been fifteen years since I made coffee. It looked simple enough. Reading the coffee packets, they called for four cups of water to a packet of coffee. While in prison, I got a college degree in business. I laughed at myself thinking, I should have gotten the degree in home economics.

  Sitting at the small table, I waited for the coffeemaker to stop its gurgling and thought things over. Each day I seemed to have a new plan. First, it was to get the money and just leave the area. Then, when I got the letter about my sister’s death, the plan changed to that of finding her killer or killers and make them pay. Next, it was to get the money and still kill the bastards who were responsible for my sister’s death. Now, I wanted to find out more about Hilary. The one and only woman in my life I ever trusted was my sister. Now that she was gone, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to trust another person. I surprised myself by the fact that I even wanted to. It was a gamble, but then, what wasn’t?

  Finally the coffeemaker gurgled to a stop. I poured a cup of coffee and sat back down. As I did, I felt a hand on my right shoulder. Looking up, I saw Hilary looking at me with the top sheet of the bed wrapped around her.

  “Would you happen to have another one of those handy?”

  “Coming right up, ma’am,” I said. “There’s no cream. Just these little creamer packets, if you like powdered milk.”

  “I’ll take it straight if you don’t mind.”

  Getting up I poured Hilary a cup of coffee and made another pot. The small bags claimed to make four cups of coffee, but they must have been using espresso cups. When I sat back down Hilary was watching me over her cup of coffee.

  “Yes?” I said.

  “Last night was different, don’t you know?”

  “How is that?” I said.

  “I wanted to do that and I will want to do it again, but before I do, I have a confession to make.”

  “Alright,” I said.

  “I’m not what I told you I was. All the other times were lies I concocted to cover up other lies. I’m a private investigator.”

  “Interesting,” I said. “I never slept with a PI before. Might have to start doing it more often.”

  Hilary smiled. “I wish it was that simple.

  “Anyway, I was hired to find out what you knew about where the fifteen million dollars is located. The people I work for are not the nicest people in the world. They hired me to get close to you and then I’m supposed to call them and tell them where it is. Once they got that information, they were going to have you re-arrested and sent back to prison. These are very powerful people and they are very angry.”

  “Sounds more like a hobby to me,” I said.

  “Lou, please. I’m not going to do that. I have decided to tell them I’m finished with this. Besides, if you will let me, I want to help you find your sister’s killers.”

  Well there it was. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, something someone comes along and changes everything.

  “When did you make this decision?” I said.

  “Some point last night between my third and fourth orgasm.”

  “I see. What if I say no?”

  “Then, I will go tell these people that I am done. Give them their money back and go back to Deadsville, where I came from and make the best of things.”

  “Sounds like you have a better plan than I do.”

  “Yes, well I need another cup of coffee and something to eat. Besides, for your information, I feel better now that I told you, no matter how it works out.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  Chapter 14

  At six o’clock, I got dressed and went downstairs to look over the hotel’s breakfast bar. There was enough food to feed an army. Before I loaded up a tray to take upstairs, I stepped outside to get a local paper. When I did, I saw a car parked next to our red Mustang. Two men were sitting in it with the motor running. Normally a person would call this just a coincidence, but I was not one of them.

  There were about twenty open spaces around the Mustang and they just happened to pick the one next to our car. Without making any sudden moves, I turned and walked back inside and took the elevator to our floor and walked down to our room. I had given the front desk the name of Addams when we checked in and paid cash for one night. I figured we had some time before anyone came across our trail. Sliding the small plastic access card into the door lock, I opened the door and walked into the room. Hilary was getting dressed. When I told her what I had seen, she dressed faster. So much for breakfast.

  While Hilary finished packing and doing the things women do before leaving an area equipped with a bathroom, I stepped out onto the room’s balcony to watch the car parked next to the Mustang. When I did, I didn’t see any smoke coming out from the car’s exhaust. They were on the move and so where we.

  “Come on, we have to move,” I said. “Leave everything here. We’re going across the hall to wait. I’m betting that night clerk fingered us somehow.”

  Stepping across the hall into an exit stairway, we didn't have to wait long. I took the suppressor I picked up from Eddie and screwed it into the business end of the Glock-17. We hadn't been in the exit stairway landing long before I heard the elevator door open and, cracking the door just enough to see two men step out onto our floor and walked directly to the door to our room. One of them had a plastic access card. I reminded myself to thank the night clerk when I saw him again.

  Opening our door, the taller of the two walked in first. I waited until the second man started to enter our room. When he did, I made my move. I reached our room’s door just before it closed and locked itself. When I hit the door, the second man was standing near the door when I hit it, collided with the man in front of him, knocking both men to their knees.

  “Okay, ladies,” I said. “How about rolling over for me and answering a few questions? I’m not in the mood to waste a lot of time.” The first one through the door looked to be in charge. His partner was looking at him for answers.

  “Fuck you, asshole,” said the first one on the floor.

  “Not a good answer,” I said and shot him in the knee. He rolled around on the floor holding his knee. “Okay,” I said, pointing the Glock at him. “I am going to call you, number One and you,” pointing the Glock at the second guy,” are number Two. Sort of like when you were small boys and your mother asked you whether you did number one or two. So, number One, why are you here?”

  “I told you to go fuck yourself.”

  I shrugged and then kicked him in the side. I had on hard toed shoes so I knew I hurt him. Wh
ile number One was holding his knee and rubbing his side, number Two blurted out, “We’re supposed to get the money.”

  Number One had the presence of mind to yell at Two to shut the fuck up. So, I kicked One again.

  “Don’t interrupt,” I said. “It’s not polite.”

  One turned toward Two and said, “Don’t say another fucking word.”

  I kicked One again, only harder and he passed out. Turning to number Two, I asked, “Who do you work for?”

  “Some guy named Angel. He didn't give us his last name. I swear on my child’s life.”

  “You have kids?”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “Okay, I’ll make allowances for that” I said. “We are making some progress. His last name wouldn't happen to be Garcia by any chance?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” said Two. “But how did you know?”

  “I’m a good listener,” I said. “Next question, where are you from?”

  “Atlanta.”

  “Either you or your partner ever hear of a guy named Hightower?”

  Wrinkling up his forehead, number Two was actually trying to think.

  “I think this Angel works for him.”

  “This is good,” I said. When I said that, number Two relaxed and realized that maybe I wasn't going to kill him, at least not yet. “Where were you when you talked to Angel?”

  “Some club on Peachtree Street near the Dome. Big place. Expensive looking, you know, one of those show bar type places. I think they call it a gentlemen’s club. Lots of tits and ass.” Number Two looked at Hilary when he said that.

  “What are you going to do with us,” Two asked.

  “I don’t know. That’s still in production planning,” I said.

  Walking over to my suit case, I looked for the Duct Tape I picked up at Eddie’s. Finding it, I walked back and handed it to number Two.

  “Take number One’s arms and tape them behind his back. Then tape his ankles together.” While he did that, I told him to take everything out of number One’s pockets and put them on the bed. After he got One all packaged up, I told him to do the same thing. I waited while he put his stuff on the bed. Then he rolled over on his stomach and put his hands behind his back. After I got him all taped up, I wound a few more turns around them both and taped their hands to their ankles. Then I took and wound some tape around their mouths. I didn’t figure they had the brains to go back to Atlanta and tell their minders what I did to them. Be as good as killing them. Then I scooped up their goodies and Hilary and I packed and left. As we walked out of the room, I hung a ’Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door. When we got to the car she was laughing.