She shut off the television and leaned back in her chair. She was in her apartment on the Upper East Side, recuperating from her struggle with Vince, the would-be rapist.
The cut on her shoulder was long, but not deep, and after she treated it against infection, she bandaged it and stopped the bleeding.
The left side of her mouth still hurt from being punched, despite the painkillers she’d taken, and for some reason, she walked with a slight limp.
Vince had banged her up good and would have raped her if the Carter brothers hadn’t interfered.
She had thought they were nothing more than a couple of lowlifes, but they had risked themselves to save her, and Merle had called a short while ago to say that they were in the clear.
Her phone rang and woke her just as she was about to fall asleep. Usually, she would check the caller ID, but in her groggy state brought on by lack of sleep and painkillers, she simply answered the call.
“Hello?”
A voice as bright as sunshine erupted in her ear, and Sara both winced and smiled. The voice belonged to her big sister, Jennifer.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Oh, I can hear the sleep in your voice, how are you, Sara?”
“I’m fine, Jenny and yes, I’m sleepy. I… didn’t sleep well last night.”
“With good cause I hope?”
“No, it wasn’t that… not since Brian.”
“Oh honey, I know you miss him, but Sara, you need to move on.”
“Why have you called?”
“I called to talk to my little sister who I haven’t seen in months. Let’s get together, you sound like you need cheering up. I’ll take you to FAO Schwarz.”
Sara let out a loud laugh. “A toy store? I’m not ten anymore, you know?”
“I know, and I also know that I love you to death and I want to see you, so why don’t we meet for lunch?”
“I love you too, Jenny, but why don’t we meet for drinks tonight instead? I really do need some sleep.”
“All right, baby, how about that place near your apartment that you like?”
“That’s good, say eight o’clock?”
“Fine, now get some sleep.”
“I will, and Jenny, thanks for calling.”
“You’re welcome, and don’t be late for those drinks, I have a ton of family gossip to tell you.”
“I’ll be there, bye.”
Sara ended the call feeling better than she had in months.
78
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Wounds
Carmine’s heart had been pounding in his chest as Pullo kicked in the door to the apartment, but he jumped into the air when he heard the blast of Rafe’s gun echo up from the hallway.
“What was that?” he asked, then realized that he was alone. Pullo and Frankie had already entered the apartment.
Carmine rushed in behind them, his heart beating faster than ever. When he glimpsed movement on the left, he fired in that direction.
“Goddamn it!” Pullo shouted, and Carmine looked at his boss with shame reddening his face.
He had just destroyed a twenty-gallon fish tank, because the movement he saw was the swimming motion of tropical fish.
The fish flopped on the wet carpet amid remnants of the glass tank and colored gravel. There was fish food as well; it had been in the automatic feeder left by their owner.
On the floor, the water filter vibrated and made a sound similar to breathing, as it attempted to clean a substance no longer there.
“It’s clear back here,” Frankie called, as he returned from checking out the small kitchen and bathroom. He was a lanky man with a long face and sleepy eyes.
“He’s in the bedroom,” Pullo said and he and Carmine splashed across the wet carpet and toward the short hallway. The door on the left turned out to be a closet. That left the bedroom on the right.
“Tanner! It’s Joe. There’s no way out.”
There was no answer, but there was a sound, it was the creak of floorboards.
Pullo’s phone vibrated and he answered it without ever taking his eyes from the bedroom doorway.
“What?”
“Joe, it’s Christopher, did you hear that shot?”
“I heard something, but I thought it was a backfire.”
“Hell no, that was a shot and it sounded like it came from in there, or maybe the side. I called Davey and he’s not answering.”
“Check it out, but Tanner is still up here. We hear him moving around.”
“I’ll check on Davey, and you guys be careful.”
Pullo put away the phone. “We’ve been here too long. The old lady downstairs has probably called the cops by now.”
Pullo moved toward the doorway with Frankie at his side and Carmine following. After silently counting down from three, Pullo and his men rushed into the bedroom, ready to deal death to Tanner.
Downstairs, Christopher ran toward Davey, who was sprawled half in and half out of the side doorway.
When Christopher caught sight of movement on the stairs, he saw Rafe and fired. Rafe fired back, missing Christopher, but hitting Davey in the chest and killing him. The two men traded more shots and Rafe tumbled down the stairs, wounded.
Joe Pullo was looking around the bedroom in bewilderment. Tanner was nowhere in sight.
Carmine gazed up from the floor, looking equally puzzled. “He ain’t under the bed.”
Frankie shrugged from the bedroom closet.
That’s when Pullo noticed the picture on the wall over the bed, above the headboard.
It showed a family of four standing in front of a house with a white picket fence: Mom, Dad, a boy, and a girl. It was the picture that Tanner had showed the old woman, the one he’d claimed was a childhood family photo. It was in a wooden frame and was three feet high and four feet wide.
Gunfire erupted from downstairs, as Rafe and Christopher began their battle, and the three men froze to listen, while gazing toward the hallway.
CREAK!
Pullo spun back around. The creaking sound had come from the bed, no, from behind the bed. As he looked at the picture again, Pullo saw an intense eye staring from a hole where the little boy’s face had been.
“Tanner!”
The picture exploded as 12-gauge slugs ripped into the bedroom. However, Pullo went down first with a 9mm wound to the right side of his chest, near his shoulder, as Tanner used his left hand to fire a pistol.
Carmine received two blasts from the shotgun and fell with most of his head gone, in a spectacular burst of blood and bone.
Frankie suffered a wound to his left arm and dived for the doorway, but as he stood up in the hallway, six shots punctured the wallboard and two of them caught Frankie in the hip and throat. He fell back against the opposite wall and left a streak of red as he sank to the carpet, where he would die.
Pullo was moaning from the agony of his chest wound while staring at his empty hand. He had no clue where his gun had gotten to, and with the blood leaking out of him as fast as it seemed, he guessed he no longer had a need for it.
In mild amazement, he watched Tanner crawl through the picture and drop atop the bed. The picture had been there simply to hide the hole he’d made in the wall, so that he could access the other apartment. And through the hole, Pullo could make out the soot-blackened walls.
“Tricky, Tanner. You always were a tricky bastard.”
Tanner grimaced at Pullo’s wound as he took out a phone. “I need an ambulance,” he said and then spoke the address of the apartment.
Pullo looked down at his chest wound, as blood soaked his shirt.
“I think you should have called a hearse instead, buddy.”
Tanner let out a sigh and rushed from the apartment. There were the sound of sirens in the air and they were growing louder.
Knowing that Pullo ran a five-man crew, Tanner was on the alert for two more men. When he found them lying dead at the bottom of the rear staircase, his face twisted in confusion.
“Hey, you’re Tanner, right?”
Tanner aimed the shotgun at Rafe, who was seated behind the wheel of the Escalade with both hands showing empty.
“Jesus! Don’t shoot me, man, and get in the car. We have to get out of here.”
It took Tanner less than a second to decide and he climbed into the Cadillac. Rafe put the SUV in gear and drove away. The vehicle’s glass was tinted, and he doubted anyone on the street could see inside, although there were people staring up at the building, while wondering where all the shooting sounds had come from.
“I’m Rafe Green, Tanner, and we’re on the same side.”
“How do you know my name?”
“I heard about you from Merle and Earl Carter.”
“Those two? I thought they were with Johnny R?”
“They are, and they aren’t. They said they were spying on him for a woman named Sara, an ex-Fed.”
“I know her,” Tanner said, then he noticed the blood running down Rafe’s left leg. “You’re wounded, how bad is it?”
“Bad enough, but first I have to get this car off the street. I think it’s stolen and the cops are probably hearing that it left the scene back there.”
“I know a place where you can get help. Head to West 26th and 10th Avenue. When you get there, you’ll see a fenced-in parking lot. Pull up to the gate and blow the horn.”
“Is there a doctor there?”
“An illegal doctor, but she’s the best, and she’ll take this Caddy as payment.”
“Pullo and the rest of his crew, did you kill them?”
Tanner hesitated a moment before answering.
“His men are all dead, but Pullo should survive.”
“If he does, I may correct that someday.”
“What’s your story, Rafe Green? Why the hate for Pullo?”
“He put my brother in a coma.”
“If he did, it was on orders from Johnny R.”
“Are you going after Johnny R next?”
“His turn will come, but I’m tired of being hunted, it’s time I became the hunter.”
“It’s a role you’re used to, isn’t it?”
Tanner nodded. “It seems I have a gift for it.”
Rafe sniffed the air.
“Why do you smell like smoke?”
Tanner smiled. “It’s a long story.”
79
The One That Got Away
Laurel Ivy looked at Tanner with angry eyes even as her lips formed into a smile.
“Tanner, I would have thought you’d be dead by now.”
“Many have tried,” Tanner said, and his face was as blank as a stone.
He was at the rear of a store that sold antique furniture. The soundproofed space had its own entrance and was a doctor’s office, complete with an area where operations could be performed.
Laurel Ivy, who was no longer recognized as a doctor by the AMA, still managed to have a thriving medical practice despite that.
She entered NYU School of Medicine with a minor cocaine habit that grew to be a major addiction by the time she was a full-fledged doctor. She was given numerous chances to get clean and went through rehab twice, but after the death of a patient was attributed to her drug use, she was kicked out of her profession.
A short time later, her dealer came to her wounded, and thus began her career as an underground doctor. The irony is that she’s been clean for years, and it was her dealer who helped her, and who later became her husband.
Laurel Ivy was a blue-eyed blonde and had paid her way through school by working as an exercise model. Although she had lived in the New York area for many years, her voice still carried a hint of her southern roots.
“Your friend will be all right, but he should stay off the leg for a while.”
Tanner pulled out a wad of bills. “How much, or is the car enough?”
“Is that all you have to say to me?”
“I thought we said everything the last time we met, Laurel.”
“You don’t know, do you?”
“What?”
“George died of a heart attack over a year ago, Tanner. I’m a widow now.”
“No, I didn’t know, and I’m sorry for you.”
“That’s okay; I know you never liked him.”
“I liked George fine. I just liked you more.”
“Despite all he did for me, I would have left him for you, but you’re just not that kind of man, are you?”
“We had this conversation already.”
“I know,” Laurel said and wiped a tear from the corner of her right eye.
Tanner touched her on the cheek. “We all have regrets, Laurel.”
“I never regretted sleeping with you, but I’m glad George never found out.”
Tanner handed her the money. “I was never here. They want me dead.”
“I heard from Joe Pullo, he wanted to know if I’d seen you.”
“Joe found me.”
A pained expression crossed Laurel’s face. “Is Joe dead? Did you kill him?”
“I tried not to, but he’s hurt bad.”
“And what about your friend back there, Rafe?”
“They don’t know about him.”
Laurel took Tanner in her arms and kissed him.
“You be careful and… you could stay at my place. They’d never find you there.”
“No, but thanks.”
“They’ll keep coming, Tanner; you have to find a hole and stay there.”
Tanner stared at her, as memories passed through his mind. He had been with many women, but Laurel Ivy was the only one ever to haunt his dreams.
“When this is all over…”
“Yes?”
“I’ll call you.”
Laurel grinned. “I’ll be waiting.”
80
The Canary
Al Trent entered Johnny R’s club. When he saw Merle and Earl seated at the bar, he walked over.
“The place ain’t open yet, mister,” Merle said.
“I’m here to see Johnny R.”
Carl the bartender spoke up. He had a cutting board out and was slicing lemons, which would later be used in drinks.
“Johnny said to send you back to his office, Mr. Trent; it’s right down that hallway.”
Trent sent Carl a nod of thanks and headed toward the office.
Merle watched him walk away and then spoke to the bartender.
“Who’s he? I got boots older than him.”
Carl laughed. “He’s some boy genius, the corporate type. I’ll tell you, fellas, it sure isn’t like the old days when Sam Giacconi ran things. A college boy like that would have been laughed out of here, now he’s giving orders.”
“Him?” Earl said in shock.
“That’s Frank Richards’ right-hand man, and I bet he’s here to talk about Tanner.”
“Any news on Joe Pullo?” Merle asked.
“The word is he’ll live, but he’s out of the fight and the rest of his crew is dead. I know you boys are here to help me keep an eye out for Tanner, but I’ll tell you a secret. If Tanner comes in that door again, I’m not warning anybody, I’m just hitting the deck.”
“Tanner wouldn’t come here, would he?”
“All I know is that I’m glad I’m not Johnny, because I think he’s Tanner’s next target.”
Inside the office, Johnny R was shouting into Al Trent’s face.
“I want Tanner! That bastard wiped out my best crew.”
Trent remained calm and spoke in a normal voice. “Mr. Richards is determined to see Tanner dead, so much so that he’s raised the bounty to one-hundred thousand.”
“Hell, for that kind of money I may hunt him down myself.”
“There’s news about that woman, Sara Blake.”
“What news, did she go to the cops?”
“No and she is a reporter of sorts. She recently acquired a half interest in Street View. She’s also an ex-FBI agent who left under a cloud, but we don’t know what that might be; how
ever, it concerned Tanner. Apparently, she despises the man.”
“Huh? Now that’s interesting.”
“If you see her again, pick her brain, she might know something that can help us find Tanner.”
“Maybe, but I still think Tanner will show here.”
“In that case, I think I’ll leave.”
Trent headed for the door and Johnny called to him just as he opened it.
“I want you to remind your boss of something. If Tanner kills me, he’s next.”
Trent smiled. “That would make you the canary in the coal mine, and we know what happens to them. Goodbye, Mr. Rossetti.”
Trent closed the door and Johnny R stared at it, while fighting the urge to run after Trent and shoot him.
81
Cute, But Scary
Tim Jackson swallowed hard as Tanner climbed into the rear of Madison’s BMW. They were meeting at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Statue of Liberty loomed large in the foreground as the last rays of sun melted away.
Tim was in the passenger seat, but Tanner was in the back with Madison. He stared at her as if trying to read her mind.
“Hello?” Madison said, and her voice sounded shaky.
“Why do you think your father had your mother killed?”
“She, she was going to leave him. Daddy married her when she was younger than I am, but she wanted her freedom and threatened to divorce him.”
“What did the cops say?”
“They said it was an accident, but I know he killed her, or had someone kill her, because I saw it in his eyes.”
Madison fought back tears as she ran a hand through her dark curls. Tim reached back over the seat and she took his hand.
Tanner noticed the look of affection Madison gave Tim as she squeezed his hand, and thought it seemed genuine.
“Your father wants me dead, but I’m going to kill him first, so proving him guilty won’t matter. He won’t be living long enough to go to prison.”
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 23