“You have to kill him, and I don’t know who these specialists are that you have coming here, but they better not fail.”
“They never have, and in the end, no matter how highly skilled he may be, Tanner is just a man, and a man can be killed. But now enough talk of men, why don’t you order up some women? After all, this is your city.”
Krupin grinned.
“I just have to make a call, any preference?”
“Blonde, I love natural blondes, my friend.”
“I’ll get two for you,” Krupin said, and wondered how friendly the man would be if he knew he had slept with his mother.
CHAPTER 34 – A very bad man
Tanner decided that it would be a good idea to keep watch, and so he and Sammy took turns.
Tanner had taken the first shift, and after Sammy came down to relieve him at three a.m., he went up, took a quick shower, and crawled into bed beside Susan.
“Oohh, you’re cold.”
“Sorry,” Tanner said. “And I was trying not to wake you.”
Susan took him in her arms.
“Come here and let me warm you up.”
Tanner felt the softness of her curves against him, and he reached up and caressed her face.
“That might do more than warm me up.”
Susan smiled.
“That’s the plan.”
They made love, and when it was over, Susan lay back in his arms.
“I know this won’t last, and that you’ll be leaving, but I want you to know that it’s more than just sex to me. I’m too old for just sex; I need a little feeling behind it.”
“It’s more than purely physical for me too, although, I have nothing against that either.”
Susan laughed.
“You are an honest man, Tanner; I’ll say that for you.”
***
Susan had breakfast on the table when Tanner asked about Amy.
“Oh, she spent the night at her boyfriend’s place. I think I’ll be losing a guest soon, because that boy is going to pop the question any day now if I had to guess.”
“I’ll spend the day with you at the restaurant, but tonight, Sammy and I have to go out again.”
Susan sat down her coffee cup and looked at both of them.
“Will it be dangerous?”
“Only for Calabrese,” Tanner said.
Susan’s phone rang. When she looked at the caller ID, she saw that it was Amy calling.
She was smiling when she answered the phone, but as she listened, she became solemn, and tears formed in her eyes.
“Oh God, Amy, I feel so bad for her. Yes honey, I’ll see you later.”
When the call ended, Susan pushed her plate away and wiped at her tears.
“What’s wrong, Susan?” Tanner asked.
“A friend of mine, her son, Tyrone... he died last night after taking meth.”
“Did he overdose?” Sammy asked.
“Amy said that the doctors think he had an undiagnosed heart condition, but if he hadn’t taken the meth, it may have never bothered him.”
Susan stood.
“I’ve got to give Maggie a call. That’s Tyrone’s mother. Tanner, Tyrone was only sixteen, and I used to babysit him when he was a toddler. Oh God, what a waste, what a waste,”
Susan drifted out of the room and Tanner saw that Sammy had grown angry.
“I know we just came down here to kill Volks, but maybe we can destroy his drug pipeline too.”
“Yeah, but someone else will take Volks place a week later.”
“I know, and this is why my grandfather passed on the meth trade. He was all about giving people what they wanted, legal or not, but not that shit.”
“Your grandfather wasn’t good, but he was a good man.”
“How well did you know him, Tanner?”
“Not well, but it’s because of him that Joe and I are... close.”
“How so?”
“He sent us out on a job once, and we got to know each other.”
“This job, did you get it done?”
Tanner broke eye contact and looked off into space.
“Yeah, we did what your grandfather asked, and that’s when I knew that Joe wasn’t just another hood, and that he had a sense of honor.”
“Who died?” Sammy asked.
Tanner sighed.
“A very bad man,”
“Good, then the world was better off without him.”
Sammy went back to eating, but like Susan, Tanner found that his appetite had fled.
CHAPTER 35 – Soulless Joe
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, TEN YEARS EARLIER
They watched Conti all that day, waiting to see if he’d run, but the good reverend only traveled between the shelter and the soup kitchen, and appeared to be going about his regular duties.
Tanner and Joe also kept an eye out for any more retaliation because of what they’d done at the brothel, but it looked like no more trouble was coming from that direction.
Tanner had assumed that there wouldn’t be. The madam would have been reluctant to admit to the people above her that two unarmed men had taken over her house.
He and Joe had stolen no money, and so she didn’t have to come clean. Still, the madam or the men working for her wanted payback, and so they had to go.
And despite the hookers having seen their faces, the madam and her bodyguards were the only ones who could tie them to Conti. Now that they were gone, no one would know where to look for them.
Tanner saw that Joe was becoming increasingly agitated as the day went on and Conti didn’t budge.
When Conti emerged late in the evening and headed for home, they fell in beside him.
“Like I said earlier, guys, Do it at my apartment, that way the kids won’t see.”
“We’re just walking with you for now,” Joe said.
Conti chuckled.
“At least the shelter will be all right. I always knew that men like you would find me someday, and I took out a life insurance policy. After they find me, the shelter will have enough to keep running.”
“Shut up,” Joe said. “I’m tired of hearing about how good you are now. You’re still Carlo Conti and Carlo Conti is a scumbag.”
“We’re all sinners,” Conti said.
***
Conti’s apartment was on the third floor of an old house that had started its existence as a single-family home, but which had been converted into ten separate dwellings. Tanner and Joe followed Conti up a set of exterior back steps and into the tiny space.
It was one room with a bathroom the size of a closet, and other than a radio and a hot plate, Conti had few possessions.
“Monks live better than this,” Joe said.
Conti shrugged.
“I eat most of my meals at the soup kitchen, and TV is nothing but crap.”
Joe looked at Tanner.
“What the hell should I do here?”
“It’s your move, Joe. I’m backup, remember?”
Joe paced for a few seconds, and then spun and pointed at Conti, who was seated on a ratty couch.
“I’m going to spend the night thinking things over, but one of us will be watching at all times. If you try to run, we’ll make it hurt bad before we put you down.”
Conti shrugged again.
“You’ll do what you have to do. I know your type and you lost your soul a long time ago. This delay is just your way of easing what’s left of your conscience.”
Joe grunted and headed for the door.
“I’ll leave that door unlocked for you,” Conti called out.
***
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Tanner asked Joe if he wanted him to take the first watch.
“We’re not watching him. I just said that. You saw him, he won’t run, and the bastard is almost looking forward to it.”
“Why are you so angry?”
“Because this was supposed to be simple, Tanner, we were to find Carlo Conti and kill him. Now, instea
d of Conti, we’ve found a damn saint. C’mon, I’m going back to the motel to think.”
***
They were two blocks from the motel when Tanner shouted for Joe to pull the car to the curb.
When they were parked, Tanner opened his door.
“I think I saw someone lying back there in the bushes.”
Joe followed, and soon they were standing over the kid they had seen coming out of the motel room with Hellman. The boy was badly beaten and barely conscious, and when he moved, he grabbed his ribs, as if they were broken.
Tanner bent down and spoke to him.
“Hey kid, who did this to you?”
“Some guy I don’t know, but I think he was paid by Mr. Hellman. Hellman got real pissed when I asked him about Candy.”
Joe ran towards the payphone on the corner.
“I’ll call for an ambulance.”
“Who’s Candy?”
“She’s a friend, and a black hooker,” the kid said, but the words were slurred, and it appeared painful to talk.
“This girl Candy went missing?”
“Yeah, I can’t find her anywhere.”
Joe came back, and he and Tanner waited until they heard the ambulance approaching.
“Help is coming, kid, but we’ve got to go,” Tanner said.
“Wait, there’s one more thing.”
Tanner bent down to listen, and what he heard gave him a very bad feeling.
CHAPTER 36 – Money or love?
Merle and Earl sat on a porch swing together as they each stared down at one of the cards Mr. Wilson had left them.
“This is a whole mess of money, Merle.”
“That it is, even after we give Hanna and Savannah their share, it’d still be a lot.”
“And farmin’ is hard work.”
“Yep,”
“If we did sell, do you think the girls would come back with us to New York?”
“No. You heard them last night. They don’t like it there.”
“Yeah, but I don’t wanna lose Savannah. She’s pretty as can be and she likes me. When’s the last time that happened?”
Merle gave it some thought.
“Back in third grade, the Harper twins, Sissy Harper liked you.”
“I don’t want Sissy Harper. I want Savannah.”
“I want Hanna.”
The boys looked at each other and tossed the cards away.
***
Inside the house, Hanna and Savannah sat at the kitchen table and talked about the offer.
“You think they’ll take it?” Savannah asked.
“That’s a lot of money, and it’s sure nice of them to pay us back for what we lost.”
“We’d still never find a place like this again.”
“No.”
“If they sell, do you think they’ll go back to New York?”
“Probably, and that Rossetti they worked for, he owned a titty bar, and you can just bet that those two had women crawlin’ all over them night and day.”
“I don’t care what Earl used to do. He’s nice to me and I’m fallin’ for him.”
“If they go back to New York we could go with them.”
“I don’t wanna live in New York, Hanna.”
“Yeah, but you might have to if you wanna keep Earl.”
Savannah picked up one of Mr. Wilson’s cards and tore it in half.
“Stupid shoppin’ center, and I miss the swamp too.”
***
In Tennessee, Sammy was following Garrett Bates’ van while driving Tanner’s rental.
If Tanner’s hunch was right, the newspaperman was involved with Volks.
Sammy followed Bates to a small warehouse just outside Brentwood, which housed a commercial printer.
He couldn’t get close enough to see what was going on without being spotted, but assumed that Bates was picking up the newest addition of his weekly newspaper.
From there, Bates drove to another warehouse in a less affluent area, where two men dressed like bikers opened a gate and let him drive inside the parking lot.
Sammy smiled.
It looked like Tanner was right, and if so, they would soon have Volks where they wanted him.
CHAPTER 37 – Paper, mister?
Tanner suggested to Susan that she and Amy go to the movies, just in case any of Calabrese’s bikers decided to pay the house a visit while he and Sammy were gone.
Amy agreed to meet Susan in town later, and with Sammy out following Bates around, that left Tanner and Susan alone.
They ate dinner and then made love, and as Susan lay facing him, she asked questions.
“You’re not the law, are you?”
“No.”
“You’re here to kill Calabrese?”
“Yes.”
“What’s his real name?”
“You’re better off not knowing, but the reason I’m here is personal. He killed Sammy’s father years ago when Sammy was just a boy.”
“Oh, that is personal.”
“I think this will all end tonight, and that means I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
“Take me with you,” Susan said, and then she laughed and pointed at Tanner. “Oh, you should have seen your face. I was joking, Tanner. I’m not some lovesick schoolgirl, but you have left me with some good memories.”
Tanner guided her onto her back.
“Why don’t we make one more?”
Susan giggled.
“Good Lord but you recover quickly.”
“It’s all the clean living I do,” Tanner said.
***
Tanner followed Susan into town while riding Sammy’s motorcycle, and after watching her meet Amy in front of the movie theater, he rode three blocks south and met up with Sammy.
“He’s still in there, and he’s alone as far as I can tell.”
“Let’s do this.”
They left their vehicles, walked across the street, and down a driveway that ran alongside the newspaper office.
There was a wooden door at the rear of the building with a roll-up metal door at its left, and when Tanner tried them, he found that they both were locked.
He looked over at Sammy.
“Did you bring what I told you to bring?”
“Yeah, I bought it while Bates was stopped for lunch.”
Sammy reached behind his back and came out with a small crowbar.
“Once I pop this door, he might go for a weapon, so be ready.”
Sammy nodded, and this time he took out a gun.
Tanner looked about to see if anyone was watching, but there was fencing separating the building from the one behind it, while the bakery to its left and the bank to its right had both closed for the day and had empty parking lots.
Tanner jammed the tip of the crowbar between the door and its frame, just above the lock. After wedging it in as far as he could, he began working it back and forth slowly, which gave him more room to jam it deeper inside, and with a violent jerk, the door popped open.
It had made less noise than Tanner would have guessed, but it was still enough to alert Bates.
The newspaperman had been in the back of his panel van, and when he peeked his bald head out of the rear, he saw Tanner walking towards him with a gun.
“Don’t shoot me, Myers! I’m not armed.”
Sammy looked inside the van and saw dozens of plastic bags containing white crystalline powder. There were also stacks of newspapers, and an old cigar box full of red rubber bands.
On the left side of the van were several rolled up newspapers. When Tanner freed one from its rubber band, a baggie fell out.
Bates had been sitting on the floor of the van as he worked at concealing the baggies inside the newspapers, but had gotten on his hands and knees to look out the back.
He was shaking violently, and his eyes never left Tanner’s gun.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Tanner answered the man by slamming the gun across the side of his head and stunning him
. He then held out his left hand, and Sammy handed him several zip ties.
Minutes later, Bates was bound up in the rear of the van with Tanner driving, as Sammy followed behind on the motorcycle.
CHAPTER 38 – The dance of joy
Merle and Earl had dinner with the girls, but none of them seemed very hungry.
After playing cards for a while, they went out and sat on the porch swings, but Earl sat with Merle, while Savannah settled beside her sister.
“Merle?”
“Yeah, Hanna?”
“When you sell the farm, Savannah and I wanna go to New York with you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I mean, if you want us to come along.”
Earl leaned forward and looked past his brother.
“I guess you’d rather have the money than the farm, hmm?”
Savannah leaned forward too, as she looked past Hanna.
“I don’t want the damn money. I wanna be with you, dope.”
Earl smiled and stood up.
“Well, what about the farm?”
“I love the farm, but if you’re goin’ back to New York, well then, I’ll go with you.”
Hanna walked over and sat beside Merle.
“Would you stay here? I know it ain’t New York City and that I’m not some fancy stripper, but I think we could do alright together, don’t you?”
Merle smiled at Hanna while speaking to Earl.
“We’re stayin’ little brother; the Carter boys are back home to stay.”
Earl let out a whoop of joy, and Savannah flew into his arms.
***
In New York, Joe was at Laurel’s townhouse and playing cards with three of his men, Mike, Bosco, and Big Ralphy, and he suspected that they were letting him win.
It didn’t surprise him. He remembered doing the same with Sam Giacconi. Still, it took the thrill out of the game and so he folded his cards.
When the phone rang, Joe wondered who was calling, but he didn’t think much of it, and Laurel answered the call in the kitchen.
When she appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, he could tell that something had saddened her.
“What’s up, baby?”
“That was Merle and Earl. They’ve decided to stay in Arkansas, but they said that they would be back for the wedding.”
The TANNER Series - Books 7-9 (Tanner Box Set Book 3) Page 23