by Trevor Scott
“What?” the man cast his eyes on Gibson. “What’s he talking about?”
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Gibson said.
“That’s obvious.” He picked up the phone and thought for a moment.
“You could call nine, one, one, if you think this is an emergency,” Tony said.
“You told me the company was yours, free and clear,” the man from San Francisco said.
“It is,” Gibson said, glaring at the phone, unsure what to do.
“You forgot about Cliff Humphrey,” Tony reminded him. “He’s the direct beneficiary of Dan, and therefore has claim to his property. In other words, you have a new partner Larry.”
Gibson had this incredulous look on his face, as if he had just 182
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found a cockroach in his soup. The men from San Francisco didn’t waste time or words. They simply gathered all of their papers into their briefcases, slammed them shut, and got up to leave.
“Call us when you get this squared away,” the leader of the group said just before trudging out through the door after his col-leagues.
“But wait,” Gibson said, trying to follow after them. But it was too late. They were gone. When he realized this, he turned back toward Tony. “What in the fuck have you just done to me?”
Tony pushed his way past him, shoving him against the door, and then stopped and turned. “You should have read that partnership deal a little more closely,” Tony said. “Have a nice day.” He left Gibson there, his face red and puckered like he’d just swallowed a jar of hot peppers.
“You fucker,” he yelled after Tony. “You fucking bastard. This isn’t over.”
As Tony passed Susie, he said to her, “You might want to consider a new job.”
By the time Tony reached the parking lot, the California contingent was already gone. He got into the truck and sat for a moment, wondering if he had just done the right thing. Strangely enough, his thoughts drifted to Dawn Sanders. Maybe it was the new bruises from Melanie’s boots kicking his ribs. Maybe he needed someone who was more pure, or at least open. Someone without an agenda.
Before he left, he called the sheriff on his cell phone. It took a while before he came on the line, and he was huffing and puffing with the effort.
“Yeah,” Sheriff Green said.
“What the hell happened to you?” Tony asked. “Just finish a marathon.”
“Fuck you! What the hell you want? And thanks a helluva lot, by the way.”
“What?”
“Now I gotta open this case again.”
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“You mean for the first time.”
“You got anything constructive for me? I been going around and around with Frank Peroni. He’s more scared than he should be. I think he knows more than he’s telling me.”
Tony thought for a minute as he watched the front door to Deschutes Enterprises open and the receptionist stomp out, throwing her coat on as she made her way down the snowy sidewalk.
“Listen, sheriff. Can I get back with you? I gotta talk with someone right now.”
“As opposed to nobody?” the sheriff said, letting out a deep breath.
“No. Hey, check into Peroni’s involvement with those B and Es. I’ll bet he was the set-up man on those.”
“What the...you think I work for you?”
Tony couldn’t hear the rest of his yelling, because he had already hit the End button and shoved the phone into his pocket on his way out the truck door. Tony caught Susie just before she opened her door.
“You leave me alone,” she said, trying to get her key into the door of her Ford Focus.
“I’m sorry,” Tony pleaded. “He didn’t fire you, did he?”
She gave him a half-serious look as she shook her head. “I quit!”
“Good for you.”
“Yeah, it’s just great. When I can’t pay the rent, then what?”
She slowly turned toward him, her mind reeling and uncertain.
“Never mind. It’s not your problem.”
“I can help you find another job.”
“Don’t bother. It was a piece of shit job anyway.” By now the key found its spot and she had the door open. She slid in, closed the door and then rolled the window down. “I want you to know I had nothing to do with Don Sanders.”
Tony had started back to the truck, but returned with that reve-lation.
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She continued, “I gave him the tickets to the Blazers game, that’s it.”
“Did anyone tell you to?”
“I think you already know the answer to that.” She started her car and drove off, the tires spinning and throwing up snow.
Climbing back into the truck, Tony headed out after her. As he drove toward downtown Bend, a lot of questions popped into his mind. Questions he didn’t have answers to. He had just blown a deal for Larry Gibson, yet he didn’t know why. He had a feeling the deal was somehow involved with the death of Barb and Dan, and that too was unclear in his mind. And there were questions about Cliff Humphrey, Frank Peroni and the Portland cops, Shabato and Reese, that wouldn’t go away. There was one bright side to all of this. At least his nuts seemed to be recovering.
When he got to Dawn Sanders’ Naturopathic Clinic, he was told by her receptionist to have a seat, since Dawn was with someone right now. He took the time to pretend he was looking through a year old travel magazine, while he cleared his mind on this case.
About fifteen minutes later the back door opened, and Dawn Sanders led an octogenarian Chinese man out from the back.
When he had left through the outer door, she came over to Tony and greeted him with a hug.
“What are you doing here?” she said. “Never mind.” She checked her watch and told her receptionist she’d be back in a few minutes. Then she hauled him through a back corridor and upstairs to her living area. There was one bedroom upstairs, with a bathroom, kitchen and dining area. She led him to the living room, which was an extension of the dining area. The room was decorated in what could only be described as new age Chic.
There was a painting that must have been Nepal. Tropical plants were spread about everywhere and rose to the ceiling.
“Nice place,” Tony said, as he sat down on a round wicker chair that seemed to scoop him up like a giant hand. She sat on an oriental rug at his feet and crossed her legs.
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Seconds later, he was startled when a six foot black boa con-strictor slithered out from under the sofa and wrapped itself around her arm.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “Tzu won’t hurt you.”
“It’s a girl?”
“No. Tzu. T.Z.U.”
“Short for Lao-tzu,” Tony said. “Author of the Tao Te Ching?”
Her brows rose. “Impressive, Tony.”
What could he say? He had actually studied the philosophy while stationed in Asia.
“Does he make you nervous? I could put him away.”
Tony didn’t want to bring it up to her, but there was something very sensual about a woman and a snake. “No, that’s all right. I just wanted to stop by and see if you might like to come by the condo tonight. I could make some pasta.”
She smiled at him. “This doesn’t have anything to do with your fight with Melanie this morning.”
“What the...how did you find out about that? And no. It was all her. I think she has something seriously wrong with her.”
“She falls for people too easily,” she said. “But in your case I can understand the attraction.”
Tony gazed at her for a moment, not knowing what to say.
“I saw a few of your photos today,” she said. “At the gallery.
Not many people have impressed me with Black and White like you. The lighting is exquisite.”
Now he was embarrassed. This was his first showing of anything he had ever shot, and he was not looking forward to it.
Photography
was so personal with him, it was almost like sex.
Something to be savored but not talked about. Which is why he had chosen Bend for his coming out party. He figured he wouldn’t know anyone there. It was easier that way. But now.
Tony simply said, “Thanks.”
They were interrupted by Tony’s cell phone. At first he tried to ignore it, but he thought it was disturbing the snake, so he decided to take the call.
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She smiled and stroked the back of the snake’s head.
When Tony answered the phone, he expected to hear Melanie’s voice, saying she was sorry she tried to crush his balls. But it was Cliff Humphrey. He talked; Tony listened. There was no question that Humphrey was upset. After he finished ranting, he asked to see Tony as soon as possible. He checked his watch. It was just after one p.m. Tony told him to come by the condo at three.
Ending the call with Cliff Humphrey, Tony shoved the phone back into his pocket and glanced about the room. He was hesitat-ing for a reason. Sure he had come to see Dawn because he thought they should do dinner together, but he also had to talk with her about her friend, Barb. And he could sense that she knew something else was up with him. To keep her from having to ask, he decided to go the direct route.
“I’ve gotta talk with you about something,” Tony started. It came out all wrong, sounding like he was about to break up with her, even though the two of them were not even dating.
“I know. It’s about Barb.”
“Jesus. Is there anything you don’t know?”
“I’ll admit I don’t know much about Jesus.” She grinned and then gave her serpent more affection.
“About Barb,” Tony said. “I found out she was murdered, as suspected. But her husband didn’t do it.”
She looked up. “I didn’t think Dan could kill her. But who?”
What must have been going through her mind was probably a series of thoughts. On one hand, it had been a nice little package.
Husband kills wife, then himself. Case solved, no concern for the general public. Now, there was a killer running loose in a quaint little tourist town in Central Oregon. Disturbing indeed. It threw an entirely new twist on one’s safety and level of security. Could it happen to her?
Tony didn’t answer her question because he wasn’t one hundred percent sure about that himself. But he had a feeling, much like Dawn seemed to always have, that the answer to that question would come to him soon. He only had a few more things to BOOM TOWN 187
tie up, and he’d need his computer and a little luck to make that happen.
“I’ve got a few ideas. What I don’t have is proof. You’re sure that Barb was not having an affair beyond the pick-ups she and Dan were involved in?”
“About as sure as one can get,” she said. “I think Barb would have told me, though. She had few secrets from me. She’d tell me size and position of almost each adventure.”
“What about Dan?”
She shook her head. “No way.”
That’s what he thought. “I should probably get going,” Tony said as he got up from the chair and avoided stepping on the boa’s tail.
She unraveled the snake from her arm and set it on the floor and then got up to walk him to the door. “What time tonight?”
She was very close now, and she ran her fingers through the hair on his arm. If he had been insecure about these things, he would have thought she was stroking his arm like she had her snake.
“I’ve got a little work to do. But I want to do dinner early.
Could you make it by six?”
“Sure.”
She gave him another hug and he wrapped his arms around her.
It was the first time he had touched her as he ran his fingers over her back. She was firm and taut, unlike some women he had touched, where the skin seemed to flow with his hands. They separated and he thought about kissing her, but didn’t think the timing was right.
They walked out together, a prolonged departure. She led him to the door and said good-bye, saying she’d see him tonight.
When they had first met, he had this feeling they would get to know each other. A feeling that Dawn Sanders would become one of those lifelong friends. If that was the case, then why was he having such a hard time saying goodbye for just a few hours until they met again? His emotions were all over the place. He needed to get control. Finish the task at hand.
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CHAPTER 30
Tony thought long and hard as he drove back to the condo.
The sun had made a slushy mess of the roads, so he took it easy, not that he was in any great hurry. He had to make a few phone calls, look up a few things on the net, and then piece this whole puzzle together. Then the meeting with Cliff Humphrey, the subject of which he had no clue, followed by dinner with Dawn. At least there was something to look forward to.
Parking the white truck in the garage, Tony let Panzer out of the back and the dog immediately ran back and forth through the parking lot. Then he loped onto the berm where someone had taken a shot at him, lifted his leg and relieved himself on a manzanita bush, and then worked his way back toward Tony.
“You got one helluva nose, Panzer. Come on. Let’s go inside.
I’ve got a Milkbone for ya.”
The schnauzer made a hasty run toward the outside door and waited for Tony.
Once inside, the dog’s nose again worked overtime as the two of them went up the stairs toward the condo. As Tony shoved the key into the door, something strange happened. Something wasn’t right. He could sense it. Sliding the door open a crack, he noticed the room was completely dark. Strange indeed. He always left the drapes open.
Panzer’s ears stuck straight up and his nose twitched.
Tony eased his way inside and stopped in his tracks as the BOOM TOWN 189
lights clicked on.
Panzer growled but waited at Tony’s side.
“About time you got your ass home,” said Shabato as he made a move toward Tony from across the room. Sitting in a chair was a rather bruised Frank Peroni. Standing behind him was the other Portland cop, Reese, his droopy eyes adjusting to the new bright-ness.
Shabato patted Tony down for weapons.
“Hey, any closer and you have to buy me dinner.”
“You’re a funny guy, Tony,” Shabato said, his task of feeling him up complete.
“Frank. You all right?”
Peroni shifted his head as he hunched his shoulders. Tony had a feeling he would have said something if his mouth hadn’t been swollen.
Casting a critical gaze on the two cops as Tony made his way across the room to the refrigerator, he said, “I suppose you guys wiped out my beer supply?” Tony glanced inside the fridge, wast-ing time as he tried to figure out what in the hell was going on.
“We got a couple a questions for you.” It was Reese this time.
Tony ran the items in the kitchen drawers through his mind.
Knives on the right of the dishwasher. Big bastard of a butcher knife, if he remembered correctly. These guys weren’t here for questions. There must have been some loose ends to clear up, and beating Frank until he gave up Tony’s location was one of them.
Followed closely by both of them ending up as coyote bait out on the high desert.
“Hopefully I can give you some answers,” Tony said, moving back into the living room. He had a better idea than the knife.
“Although I’m pretty much of an ignorant bastard when it comes to details. So you’ll have to bear with me.”
Frank mumbled something and Reese smacked him across the side of the head.
“What the hell was that for?” Frank whined as he rubbed his head.
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“For being a dumb ass,” Reese yelled at him.
“Listen,” Tony said. “Let’s stop right here. As of this moment, I don’t know shit for shit. I’m working on the murder of Barb and Dan H
umphrey. If you two super cops have something to do with that, then we can talk. Otherwise the three of you can just leave me alone. I sure as fuck don’t need any more headaches.”
Shabato flipped his red ponytail over his shoulder and took a step toward Tony. He stopped when Panzer growled and took a few steps in the cop’s direction.
“You better control that beast,” Shabato said. “What the hell is it a giant poodle?” He laughed.
The dog growled again.
“Now you’ve pissed him off,” Tony said. “He’s a Giant Schnauzer. A German-trained police dog. Being a cop, you should know that.”
“Fuck you!”
Shabato was trying his best to be intimidating, but it was hard for Tony to take serious threat from a guy with a ponytail. Maybe the Highlander. Regardless, the cop still had a 9mm strapped to his right hip. The only consolation so far was his reluctance to pull it on Tony.
Shabato said, “Tell us about your case.” His eyes were still focused on Tony’s dog.
Tony shifted his eyes intentionally toward his thick briefcase leaning against the wall next to the sliding glass door. Reese took the bait. He shoved his foot into the hard aluminum case.
Tony took a step toward him, but was stopped by Shabato’s outstretched hand.
“What the fuck you got in there?” Reese asked, looking at the case with great scrutiny.
“There’s nothing in there,” Tony said, trying to be as casual as possible.
Shabato went over to the case now. “What do you think’s in there?” he asked his partner.
“Shit if I know,” Reese said, playing with one of the latches.
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“Maybe what we’re looking for. Maybe the two of them are together on this.”
Shabato glanced Tony’s way. “Is that right, Caruso? You got what we want in here?”
“Only if you want my dirty skivvies.” Tony made a move toward the two of them and Shabato finally drew his gun and pointed it directly at Tony’s gut.
Now Panzer bared his teeth and stretched his broad chest toward the cop with the gun. “Panzer, sitzen.” The dog did just that.
“Hold it right there,” Shabato said, and then glanced back at his partner. “Open it up.”