Moments later, it was time to go. Tanner accompanied Sammy onto the plane and they began the young man’s quest for revenge.
327
Red, White, And Black And Blue
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER
Tanner and Pullo had asked around separately and several cabbies had directed them both to a secluded house in the community of Chatham.
The house was a large two-story colonial and they were told that its favors didn’t come cheaply. When Pullo checked with Sam, he learned that the brothel was run by a different syndicate than theirs.
“High-priced whores mean heavy muscle, and if they’re any good, they would spot the bulge of a weapon,” Pullo said.
“Then it looks like we go in empty and acquire weapons if we need them.”
Pullo looked sideways at Tanner. “You say that like it’s easy.”
“It’s not impossible, and I’ve done something like it before.”
Pullo studied him. “We don’t know each other, Tanner, and if we had to make a move in there to get answers, I’d be trusting in you to hold your own.”
“Same here, Pullo, but who knows, maybe we’ll spot Carlo Conti the second we walk in, and then there will be no need to ask questions.”
“If that’s the case, we just follow the bastard and whack him when he gets out of his car.”
“Deal,” Tanner said. “So, are we doing this or what?”
Pullo stared at Tanner for several more seconds and then nodded. “If you hear me say the word, ‘expensive,’ it’ll mean it’s time to take out the security, but don’t kill them unless you have to.”
“Right, and don’t worry, Pullo, I can handle myself.”
“Same here.”
The guy who opened the door was about as big as Tanner and Pullo combined. He was a black man with a shaved head who had one gold tooth showing in his front teeth.
After passing the man’s visual inspection, they were ushered inside a huge sunken living room that was decorated entirely in red, while the seven women lounging on the sofas all wore white lingerie. The women were beautiful without exception, and Tanner began wishing he were there for purposes other than to obtain information.
A middle-aged blonde approached them from a doorway on the left. Although she was beautiful enough to entice, she wore a long dress of red instead of the white lingerie.
The madam, Tanner thought, and had it confirmed when the woman greeted them with a huge empty smile.
“Look at you two fine, fine young men. You’ve come here to have a good time, now didn’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Pullo said enthusiastically, and Tanner watched as he walked over to a love seat where two redheads were seated together. The women’s breasts were straining at the white bras they wore, but Tanner saw that Pullo’s eyes were trained toward a second bodyguard, who was leaning back against the wall beside the fireplace.
A third bodyguard sat in a chair on the left. Tanner drifted that way, while pretending interest in the beautiful Asian woman who sat at the end of the sofa.
“You boys are new, so let me tell you our prices. Now, for—”
Pullo interrupted the madam, as he lifted a glass ashtray off the coffee table. The thing was heavy, and colored red, like the rest of the room.
“Hey, how much did you pay for this thing? It looks expensive.”
Before Pullo had even finished speaking, Tanner had swung his foot around and buried it into the throat of the guard sitting in the chair.
Meanwhile, Pullo had flung the heavy ashtray and hit the guard by the fireplace in the center of his forehead, causing the man to collapse to the floor.
The women screamed and ran for the stairs, but not the madam. She freed a small gun from a holster buried beneath the folds of her dress. As she brought it up to fire at Pullo, Tanner backhanded her and sent her sprawling onto the carpet, then he removed the gun from the holster of the man he kicked.
Pullo had also claimed a gun from the guard he’d hit with the ashtray. He was pointing it at the room’s entryway when the giant from the front door appeared holding a sawed-off shotgun.
“Drop it or die!” Pullo said.
The man looked at Pullo, then at Tanner on the opposite side of the room and knew that he’d never get both of them. He tossed the shotgun onto a chair and sneered.
“You gonna regret this shit.”
“Sure,” Pullo said. “Now help this guy up and go sit over there by your other friend.”
The hookers had all run upstairs, but Tanner detected the thump of heavy footsteps coming from above, and they were growing louder. He rushed to the side of the staircase, stripped a tall lamp of its shade, and jammed it between two spindles on the wooden railing.
A fourth guard appeared. He was a large black man like the others. He had been in the upstairs hallway when the trouble began. The man tripped over the lamp as he left the landing and tumbled down the stairs to crash hard onto his right shoulder. The shoulder was clearly dislocated, and he moaned loudly in his distress.
Tanner scooped up the thug’s gun, then pocketed the small pistol that the madam had dropped. Afterwards, he helped her to stand and fall onto the sofa. The side of her mouth was puffing up, but she managed to slur out a few words.
“Take the money and leave, pricks.”
Pullo unfolded the picture of Carlo Conti and held it up in front of her face while Tanner kept watch over the guards.
“This man, where can we find him?”
The madam squinted at the photo, then she looked up at Pullo. “You’re not robbing us?”
Pullo shook the paper. “Where is he?”
The woman sighed, reached her hand into a pocket slowly, and brought out an eyeglass case. When she had her glasses on, she looked at the picture once again, and then frowned at Pullo.
“What the hell are you playing at?”
“What do you mean? You do know where he is, right?”
She did, and when she told them, they knew it was the last place they ever would have looked for him.
328
Mirror Image
Tanner and Sammy landed at Tennessee International Airport. After grabbing their bags, the two prepared to split up.
They had barely spoken on the flight, and if not for Pullo, Tanner wouldn’t want anything to do with Sammy. However, the kid meant a lot to Pullo, so Tanner would make sure that he came back in one piece. Inside a coffee shop in the terminal, they went over the plan one more time.
“We split up here and arrive in town separately. They only have one hotel, and once we’re both booked in, I’ll make contact.”
“I got it, Tanner, but what if I spot Bobby Volks first?”
“Do nothing. Once we know the situation we’ll plan the hit together.”
“All right, but I pull the trigger, not you. That bastard killed my father.”
“I know, but we can’t just rush in. Volks has had plenty of time to make friends down here. We also want to steer clear of the law.”
Sammy didn’t have a suitcase, but instead, he had packed his things in a backpack. He hefted it onto his back and held out his hand.
“I want to thank you for helping me. I’ve got to believe that it’s the last thing you want to do.”
Tanner sighed as he shook Sammy’s hand. “Sophia made her choice and I have to live with it. You just make sure you treat her well.”
“I will, and I’ll see you in Rainberry.”
Ten minutes later, Sammy was looking at a yellow SUV and frowning. The vehicle had soccer mom written all over it.
“Is that really the only thing you have here?”
The car rental agent, a young black man in jeans and a white dress shirt, sent Sammy an apologetic smile.
“As I said, sir, the sports car you reserved was in an accident.”
Sammy looked across the lot where Tanner was getting a car from another rental agency. They had reserved cars at different agencies so that they wouldn’t b
e tied together, but Sammy was willing to risk it rather than drive a mommy mobile.
“Do you think they’ll have one over there?”
“I actually checked before you came in, and no they don’t. I’m sorry.”
Sammy looked at the SUV, and then an idea came to him. When he asked the clerk about it, the man smiled.
“I’ll call and check for you.”
An hour later, Sammy was headed for Rainberry while riding a rented Harley.
In Sawyer’s Creek, Arkansas, Merle and Earl were gazing at their long-abandoned farm with eyes full of wonder.
Earl lifted an arm and pointed. “It’s, it’s… it’s beautiful.”
“Yeah,” Merle said. “But how?”
They had parked on the side of the road after spotting the farmhouse. When they left the farm years ago to find their fortune, the land had been full of weeds and the house was a dilapidated mess with a porch blackened from a recent fire.
Laurel had reported seeing the same thing. However, the home was not only in good repair and painted pink and white, but the yard was filled with flowers. Beyond the house, the barn looked renewed as well, while the fields were full of fall crops ready to be harvested, such as cabbages, cauliflower, and beets.
Earl turned in a circle. “Are we in the right place?”
“Of course, look over there. There’s that sassafras tree we tied the tire to so that Laurel Lee could have a swing, and across the road is the pond we used to fish in. We’re home, Earl.”
“Yeah, but it ain’t never looked this good.”
They returned to the car, and when they reached the driveway, they saw a new mailbox that had the name COLE written on it. They shrugged at each other and drove on.
After parking at the side of the house near an old motor home, they went up the front steps, where there were identical porch swings hanging on either side of the wide front door. Stained glass was set in the new oak door and it sparkled and reflected light in dazzling colors.
“What the hell is goin’ on?” Merle said, and Earl just shook his head in confusion.
Although he felt foolish doing it, Merle reached out and rang the bell of his own home. No one answered, and after trying the doorknob and finding that the door was unlocked, he and Earl entered.
The interior matched the outside of the home, as the furniture in the living room looked well cared for and polished, while the rug was new, and logs laid beside the fireplace in a neat stack. There was also an upright piano in one corner, with a guitar case leaned up against it.
A line of pictures sat on the mantle above the fireplace. Merle was about to walk over and look at them when he felt the barrel of a shotgun dig into his ribs.
“Around here, we kill trespassers.”
Merle turned his head slowly, and when he saw the face of the woman holding the shotgun, he smiled.
“Wow, you’re pretty.”
The woman blushed, and when Merle looked over at his brother, he saw another woman, but where the first one was blonde, her sister’s hair was redder, or a strawberry color. Other than that, the two women could pass for twins, and looked to be about thirty-five.
Merle’s assessment of “pretty” was accurate enough, and although the sisters would never win a beauty pageant, they were cute, and stood only five-foot-two.
The strawberry blonde was holding a revolver on Earl, but Earl was gazing at her as if she were offering him flowers.
“Who are you ladies?” Merle said.
“You’re in our house, that’s who we are,” said the woman holding the revolver.
“Un-uh,” Merle said. “This is our house. We’re Merle and Earl Carter. I’m Merle and that there is Earl.”
The sisters looked at each other, then the one with the shotgun spoke to Merle.
“You used to live here, didn’t you?”
“We grew up here.”
“I know that. There’s markin’s on the pantry door in the kitchen showin’ how tall you were at different ages. We always figured you two for midgets since the markin’s stopped at about four feet.”
Merle’s expression saddened. “Our mama did that, and that’s how tall we were when she died.”
The woman with the revolver lowered it. “Oh, that’s so sad.”
“Sad or not,” said her sister, “it don’t give them the right to just walk in here.”
“What’s your name?” Merle said.
“I’m Hanna and she’s Savannah; we’re the Cole sisters.”
“Well, Miss Hanna, this here is Earl and me’s home, and you two are the ones trespassin’.”
Hanna squinted her eyes. “Savannah, call the cops.”
329
Yippee-Ki-Yay
Tanner parked at a rest stop on I-40 West.
After tucking an envelope full of cash under the passenger seat, he left his rented car unlocked. Before walking away from the vehicle with the keys in hand, he tied a yellow bandana around the side-view mirror.
He went inside to use the bathroom, then strolled about the interior of the rest stop, casually observing the other people before heading back out to the car fifteen minutes later.
The bandana was gone along with the envelope full of cash, while the car was locked, and on the floor in front of the passenger seat was a plain cardboard box.
Tanner pulled back onto the highway, took the first exit, and drove randomly. When he was certain he wasn’t being followed, he parked in the back corner of a Walmart parking lot.
After getting out of the car, he got down on the ground to check the vehicle’s undercarriage for a tracking device. He found none, checked the trunk as well as the car’s interior, and then finally opened the box.
Inside, were two Glock 19s, and as he had asked, they had been modified with laser-enhanced guide rods. The guns had spare magazines, cleaning kits, and there were two flip-top 100 round ammo boxes of 9mm bullets.
Besides the guns and ammo, there were two knives with sheaths. Tanner slid one of the knives down into his boot. Feeling better now that he was armed, he started the car and headed back to the highway.
Rainberry, Tennessee, wasn’t the quiet little town that Tanner thought it would be. By the time he reached the town’s center, he saw a drug deal go down on a street corner and two men engaged in a fistfight.
Other than that, the place did look quiet, even picturesque. Maybe the two scenes he’d witnessed were anomalies.
Tanner was in a bad mood, as his mind had been preoccupied by thoughts of Laurel and Sophia, and he didn’t like it. He might not be the one pulling the trigger, but he was still on a hit, still out to fulfill a contract, and he needed to keep his mind on the task.
Laurel was better off with Pullo, and if Sophia wanted Sammy, then she could have him. There was no shortage of women in the world and his lifestyle was hardly conducive to wedded life.
He stepped out of the car in front of the Rainberry Hotel, but then spotted the pub across the way. Checking into the hotel could wait. He was hungry, and a beer would hit the spot as well.
The pub was called The Roundup, and the theme was western, with the walls decorated with movie posters of films about the Old West.
There was a bar on the right past a few scattered tables, while on the left side was a line of booths. Tanner took the stool farthest from the door and gazed up at the menu above the bar.
The bartender, a tall pleasant man with a red face, poured his beer and took his order, but when the food came, it was delivered by a woman who caught Tanner’s eye.
The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, with straight hair that hung past her shoulders. She was beautiful, black, and her huge brown eyes flowed over Tanner, as his own eyes devoured her as well.
When she smiled, she displayed straight white teeth, and when she spoke, it was in a lyrical southern accent.
“You’re not from around here, because I would remember you.”
“And I’ll never forget you,” Tanner said, and saw her smile
widen.
“I’m Susan Holmes; welcome to my place.”
“I’m Tom Myers,” Tanner said, then he pointed at the posters adorning the walls. “Are those yours?”
“They sure are, and I’ll give you a free meal if you can name the years they were released.”
Tanner not only told her what year each film came out, but he also gave a brief synopsis of all the movies. When he was done, he saw Susan grinning at him.
“You’re too young to know that.”
“So are you.”
“My granddaddy was a western movie stuntman in Hollywood before he met my grandma and moved here. He was in about half of those pictures. And before you ask, yes, he was white.”
“I wasn’t going to ask.”
“Okay, but how do you know so much about old westerns?”
Tanner looked lost in thought for a moment before answering. “My father loved those movies. I used to watch them with him on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid.”
Susan took the stool beside him. “You say that wistfully. Is your daddy dead?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories.”
“Actually, you did the opposite; I haven’t thought about those Saturday afternoons for years.”
“Are you staying in town, Tom, or passing through?”
“I’m staying for a day or two.”
“At the Rainberry across the street?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t checked in yet.”
“Don’t. I also own a Bed & Breakfast. It’s empty right now because it’s the off-season, but I’m the best cook in town.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Don’t you want to know how much I charge?”
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 104