"I'll get him," Jimmy said. "I'll be honest, Neo is no joke, but you know I'm not either. I'll get him," Jimmy said.
"Or else?" Tommy asked.
"Or else, he'll have to fuckin' kill me... I know my job. You know where my loyalties are, Tommy. He'll have to kill me, but he won't. He won't because he has nothing on me at all. I know him. I know how he operates. His methods. He's a dead man, Tommy. He just don't know it yet. When I get him, believe me, he'll wish he did die in that car with the top of his head blown off," Jimmy said.
"I don't ever doubt you, Jimmy. I don't. Get this done for me. Make it all work out and I'll take care of you. You know that," Tommy said.
"I know that," Jimmy said.
"You need something, you call these people. They're right there. They'll help," Tommy said. He rattled off two local phone numbers.
"Okay," Jimmy said. He clicked off, tore off the square of paper with the two numbers on it from the pad. Folded it, and slipped it into his pocket. He wandered over to a long display of acoustic guitars, took one down and strummed the open strings. He had never learned. He couldn't figure out how anyone could learn, it was killer on your fingers. He hung the guitar back up, walked back to the stool where he had been sitting and sat back down. There was nothing he could do but wait.
Mississippi
Billy Jingo
She finally calmed down, but Billy still held her for a while. “Is it your friend Alice? Is that it?” Billy asked her.
"How they could have possibly found out about us... What they could have thought that she would know," April said. “She's nothing to me at all... Why did someone do that to that girl?” She finally thought to finish dressing, and pulled away from Billy. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and put her second sock on.
"We've probably got to get out of here pretty quick," Billy said.
She looked at him while she slipped her jeans on over her panties and then slipped into a sweat shirt, leaving her bra abandoned on the bed. "You think someone will recognize us?" she asked.
Billy shrugged. "The picture of you was terrible, what was that, high school yearbook?"
"Junior high. That's why it doesn't look much like me," April said. She looked down and noticed that she had forgotten the bra, tried to put it on under the sweatshirt, gave up and slipped the sweatshirt back off and put the bra on. "The picture of you is old too, but it still looks a little like you, except you don't look like you, you look like someone else, a cross between Dan Gaynor and you, with Neo's receding hairline," April said.
"We should still go. I think any young guy and girl traveling together are gonna be looked at... We shouldn't chance it," Billy said.
"I need a drug store... I can make us look completely different," April said.
"We need another place to stay too... For the daytime," Billy said. They both began to load up the Camaro. It was still fairly early and no one else was out of their rooms yet so they managed to slip away unnoticed. Billy headed toward the mall, paranoid every time he saw a cop.
Mississippi
Jane on the Phone
Rebecca Monet
"Could I talk to Rebecca Monet?" the young woman's voice asked.
"She's busy right now, can I help you? I'm her assistant, Cindy," Cindy told her. She wasn't exactly Rebecca's assistant, but close enough now that it really didn't matter.
"Well, I really wanted to talk to her about these two kids on the news. This Ben Neo guy and this girl April. I know right where they are," she said.
"Hold on," Cindy said. She put the girl on hold and took two quick breaths.
"What?" Rebecca asked from beside her.
"The girl on the phone says she saw Ben Neo and April Evans. Knows where they are." Cindy reached forward and pushed a button to tape the call. "You better take it, just in case," Cindy said.
Rebecca picked up the phone. "This is Rebecca Monet," she said.
"Oh, my God, Rebecca, I've always wanted to talk to you. You're so much better than Bethany is," the young woman said.
"My assistant said you saw Benjamin Neo and April Evans?" Rebecca said.
"God yes. Right over here in Pascagoula, Rebecca. I can't tell you my boyfriend's name because he's married, you know, but, see, we were coming out of our room this morning and we saw Mr. Neo first. Probably he had gone out for something. He was going back into the room. Well me and Ricky, we walked down to get some coffee, see? And we're coming back and here she comes. Well she's only got on a robe. I don't think nothing else of that though, I wear a robe myself, sometimes out of the motel room, except she's walking and it falls open and you can see her bare legs, and my Ricky he noticed... And anyway, that's the reason I noticed. She walks down there half naked like that, buys two of them cardboard coffees and then takes them back to her room. Like everything was fine, and half the United States wasn't looking for her and that Neo guy and them other two. I know it said on the news she's supposed to be that boy William's, his girlfriend, but, well, they was in that room together, her and that Neo guy, and she only bought two coffees," the young woman said.
"Did you happen to notice what they were driving? What room number they were in? Anything else that might be helpful?" Rebecca asked.
"Well, there was a big Jeep, what you call them sport utilities? Looked like the one on TV. Parked a few rooms away, kind of sneaky, you know? They was in room 118, Starlight Motel... It was a pink robe... One of them fuzzy ones, you know?"
"Anything else?" Rebecca asked.
"Well, no... Well, Ricky said she was cute... Had nice legs... I don't know, maybe. I didn't think so," the young woman said.
"I need your name," Rebecca said. "For the reward: If they catch them there is a reward."
"Oh, Rebecca, I can't do that. I can't bring my boyfriend into it or mention his name," the young woman said.
"It's a substantial reward," Rebecca said.
"Jane Roberts," she said. "My friends call me Janey, only you can leave Rickey's name out of it?" she asked.
"Absolutely," Rebecca said. "Where can I reach you? Are you still there at the motel?"
The young woman gave her a cell phone number. "I'm in my car. I have to go to work. But I'm looking at the big Jeep, it's still there, and check out is not for another 4 hours. Me and Ricky had to leave early, to go to work, you know."
"I know, Jane," Rebecca said. "I'll be in touch, okay?"
"Okay," Jane Roberts said. She hung up.
"Oh. My. God," Rebecca said. "What do I do now, call the cops?" Rebecca looked at Cindy.
"Calm down, Baby," Cindy smiled. "I got the camera crew loading up. Bob already knows. The truck's waiting on you," Cindy said. She eyed her critically. "I'm going with you. I'll make you up in the truck. Bob is taking care of calling the cops. He'll play them the tape. Shake your buns, Becca, this is big. You got about an hour's drive. I'll have you looking good by the time we get there," Cindy told her. They both hurried away. Ten minutes later the stations Live Eight satellite truck was racing for Mississippi. Cindy worked on Rebecca's face as the crew drove.
SEVEN
The Friendly Skies
Sammy and Don
"Detective, right?" the flight attendant asked. She looked from Don to Sammy.
"Me," Don said. She handed him a phone.
"Jennie?" Don asked when he heard her voice.
"Don't worry, it's official. Listen," Jennie said. "They think they have Neo and the girl holed up in some lowbrow motel in Mississippi... Pascagoula," she spelled it.
She spent a few minutes telling him what the eyewitness had seen and then moved on to explain where was located. "It's maybe an hour from where you're going, an hour and a half. I'm looking at a map. It's not far. So the plan is, if they don't flush them out before you get there, to get in the rental car and drive right to where they are," she gave him a short list of directions, which he wrote on a small pad the flight attendant had given him along with a pencil.
"I got it, Jen," Don said.
"Hey... You be careful... Come back to me, Donnie," Jennie said.
"You know it, Jen," Don said.
"I love you, Donny," she said.
"I... I know you do... You know," Don said.
"Sammy right there? Well, I know you love me, tough guy. Just bring yourself home in one piece... Start thinking about making an honest woman out of me too... I'm really tired of all the secret agent stuff," she clicked off.
"Me too," Don said into the dead phone. He clicked it off and handed it back to the flight attendant. He tore the paper off the pad and handed it back to her along with the pencil. She walked away.
"They have Neo and the girl holed up in a motel room in Mississippi... Some place called Pascagoula... I got directions... They have a witness who ID-ed Neo, not Jingo, but Neo. What kind of sense does that make? We already know for a fact we've got Neo's body cooling in the morgue. I don't get it. I just don't get it," Don said.
"Maybe we don't have Neo," Sammy said.
"Well maybe not the Neo, but we got a dead guy whose prints come up as Neo's... who else could it be?" Don asked.
Sammy shrugged.
"Well, anyway, we got to head for the motel as soon as we're off the plane... Maybe luck is with us." He looked down at the arm of the airline seat. Plastic he saw. "Knock on plastic, I guess," he laughed. "We'll wrap this up and then head right back, I fuckin' hate planes," Don said.
"Yeah? I love them. I really do," Sammy said. "I hate driving. I know people that drive cars cross country and I say to them, 'Are you stupid!' Two or three days in a car and you could be there in a couple hours! Not me, that's for sure," Sammy said.
"Yeah, but planes crash," Don said.
"Yeah. Cars crash too," Sammy said. He sipped at his airline coffee which tasted like something familiar, but not exactly coffee. He couldn't place it... Something burned.
"Yeah, but a car crashes and it's only a couple people. The plane crashes and everybody dies," Don said.
"Yeah? The car crashes and you're in it I'm pretty sure you're not gonna give two fucks that more people weren't killed. You'll still be as dead as dog shit," Sammy said.
"Hmm," Don said.
"No comeback?" Sammy asked.
"I can't top that reasoning. You're right, but I still think planes suck," Don said.
"Oh, well, that's just a matter of preference. You probably have an underlying fear of things you can't personally control. You know, you're in the car you got the wheel. You're in the plane some pilot that you don't know is behind a closed and locked door, probably finger banging the Stewardess, for all you know, and he supposed to be flying the plane," Sammy said.
"Jesus, thanks for putting me at ease like that, and they are called flight attendants now," Don told him. "Now every flight attendant I see, I'm gonna have this visual, Sammy," Don said.
"Probably sniffs his finger for the rest of the flight too," Sammy said.
"You are a sick bastard, Sammy," Don said. "Probably does though."
"So how's he flying the plane... Sniff... Sniff... oops, the fuckin' plane is off course... Sniff... Sniff... Oh fuck! A flock of geese!"
Don nearly choked on his coffee. "Jesus, Sammy," he managed at last.
The flight attendant came down the narrow corridor. "Are you okay, sir?" she asked.
"Fine," Don said. "Fine."
She smiled and moved away.
Sammy sniffed.
Don bit his tongue. "Prick," he said to Sammy. Sammy just laughed.
Don turned his mind to Mississippi. The Neo angle made no sense at all. And if the girl was seen out of the room, by herself, and went back voluntarily with only 2 cups of coffee, that meant she wasn't a hostage like they had begun to think. It made no sense. Where was Billy Jingo? And although he didn't expect the paperboy to be with them necessarily, he had expected him to turn up eventually and so far he had not. Dead guys who weren't dead. Parts of dead guys in duffel bags. Teenage girls who did dumb shit. And a few million dollars worth of drugs, whatever the big secret was, not to mention all the cash that was supposed to be missing too. This was turning into the biggest pain in the ass that he had ever dealt with. He massaged his eyes, closed them for just a second, and then woke up in Mobile with Sammy shaking him hard.
Mississippi
Billy Jingo
Billy came back with two bags full of stuff that April had sent him for, only to find the Camaro gone. Before the panic leapt too far he heard a horn, turned around and saw the Camaro coming at him. A battered Ford SUV behind it blew the horn as she stopped.
Billy opened the passenger door and climbed in.
"The creep behind me has been stalking me. He parked next to us. I said to hell with it and drove away, but he decided to follow me," April said.
"Fucker," Billy said. He started to climb out of the Camaro.
"Don't," April said. "We can't afford to be remembered, or make a scene, or, god forbid, be arrested. Let's just go. I'll lose him and we'll find a place to do this. She shifted into drive and drove off. The SUV fell back in traffic and they both forgot about the guy after not seeing him for a few minutes.
"Anyway, the guy was just some creep. Some weirdo... We need to go back to the motel... We still have time left on our room. I need a bathroom... Water," April said.
"I guess the room is probably okay," Billy agreed, but a few minutes later when he saw a news crew van and several cop cars sitting in the cordoned off driveway that lead back behind the motel, he drove on past quickly. He held his breath as he drove.
"Christ," Billy said. He snapped on the radio and tuned until he found an announcer talking about the drama downtown.
"… As of now, all attempts to communicate with the couple have failed. Detective John Bass told us in an interview that there are two New York detectives in route from Mobile. He believes they may be able to help in talking the two into surrendering... That is our top story. I guess we'll know more as it develops. To recap, an eyewitness spotted Benjamin Neo and 17 year old minor, April Evans, both wanted in connection with several murders in the upstate New York hamlet of Waterville, at a local motel early this morning. It was thought the young girl was a hostage, but after seeing her leave the room several times on her own and return, according to eyewitnesses accounts, on her own, while Neo was seen coming and going too, it appears she's a willing participant with Neo. There have been no sightings of the other two missing teens. Sources called that ominous. There has also been no communication or further sightings since the police arrived here. Okay... Back to music... Here's the newest, Brady Parker, number five this week, 'If you had my body'... We'll be back."
Billy snapped off the radio as the song began to play. "We're in trouble now," Billy said.
"No, Neo and some 17 year old girl are in trouble now. We're fine. Waterville? Man are they stupid. We need a place, Billy. We need some place to get this done," April said... "Away from here too," she added.
Mobile
Jimmy West
Jimmy looked at his watch, 9:30 AM, and then back to the TV. A local station was reporting live from Pascagoula Mississippi where they supposedly had Ben Neo and the girl holed up in a motel room. If that was true he might as well get into his own car right now and began to drive. Far... Fast... It was all over if that was true. He regretted he wouldn't be able to go back for the rag top Camaro, but that was life. He had taken no chances. He had bought the money from Richard Dean's place with him, along with enough of his own money that he had squirreled away to make close to a million dollars. He had two numbered accounts with over three million between them. He'd done well in his career. He would be okay as long as he was careful and kept below the radar.
He stood from the stool. Several customers had stopped by this morning. Apparently Ronnie Lee's guitar shop wasn't just a front. Apparently it did some business. All the more reason to leave. It was stupid to hang around. It would just be asking for it.
He started for the back door when the phone on the wall rang. He p
icked it up and listened, probably someone calling for Ronnie lee. The real Ronnie lee. He had phoned the cell phone number that Billy had given him a half dozen times, but it simply rang and rang. Of course if they were surrounded by cops that could be the reason.
"Ronnie Lee?" the girl's voice asked.
"Annie," Jimmy said. He had almost slipped up and said April. "I've been concerned... Worried, I guess. Where you two at?" he asked.
"Never mind, Ronnie, it's been a very rough morning. We're on our way to you... Maybe about 2 hours... You'll be there with the money?" She asked.
I'll fuckin' bet it has been you smart-ass little cunt, Jimmy thought. "About that," Jimmy said aloud. "This is a place of business. It's light now, you know? I'm open. I've got people to run it, I guess I'm saying I can't do it here. I had thought, easy, we'll do it early in the morning. I could send you out with the money packed in one of my guitar cases... Who would know? ... But now I got employees here... Customers... It's too busy today... You see?" Jimmy said.
"I see you're sounding like you wanna back out," April said.
"No... No, no... See, that's not what I'm saying, darling," Jimmy said. "I'm saying, there are people here now. Too many people. Let's pick another place... Any place... I got the money in my car... We'll meet, you choose the place... Let's get this done, little lady," Jimmy said.
"You talk to me like I'm a sex object," April said. "Darling, girl, little lady, and I really don't like that, Ronnie Lee," April said.
"Well... Well, that's just me... I don't mean to sound that way. I'm sorry, man... I truly am. I'm just giving southern men a bad name. It won't happen again... Come on, can we get this done, Annie... Can we?" he asked. He was barely holding his temper in check.
"We'll call you back when we get into Mobile... Let you know where to meet us," April said.
Earth's Survivors: box set Page 159