The Taxman Killeth

by Mitchell, Mary Ann

  “You what?”

  “We didn’t stay long. Are they still open?” Morgan peered through the dirty window of the bar. “Looks like there’s still some life in there. I’ll buy you one.”

  Todd knew Morgan would talk at his own snail-like pace, so he followed the man back into the bar. Once settled with a couple of beers and a shot of whiskey for Morgan, they got down to business.

  “I got Amy to go home. Saw her home, as a matter of fact. Drink your beer and cool off. I was a gentleman. She was too obsessed with finding you to be useful to any other male. Told her I’d find you and pass on her message.” Morgan slugged back the shot and drowned it in tap beer. “She wants to set up a meeting here with you. You name the date and time, and I’ll pass it on.”

  “In this bar? I don’t want her coming back here.”

  “Doubt she’ll care about whether or not you’re in agreement with the location. Doesn’t seem to think it’s a good idea to come around her place. Doesn’t even want you to call. You in trouble with the police?”

  Todd was hit in the face with his jacket.

  “Getting ready to close up. Finish the beers and out.”

  “Walt, you’re not as friendly as your predecessor,” Morgan said, shaking his head.

  The bartender made a face and continued cleaning up.

  “I don’t want her coming here.”

  “Come on, I doubt you want her visiting the place where you’re staying. Besides, if you don’t see her soon, like within the next two days, she’s gonna go looking for you again. I’d offer my place, but it’s no more conducive to a meeting with Amy than this place. Although I would guess it’s a hair’s breadth better than where you live.”

  “The Hilton.”

  “You’re staying at the Hilton?” Morgan whistled and rubbed the back of his neck with the palm of his hand. “God, you could have fooled me. Nobody ever stops you?”

  “Amy sees to that. Tell her to meet me in the same spot I waited for her before. Or, better yet tell her to meet me at Kay’s house. Yeah, at Kay’s, at ten o’clock.”

  “Come on guys, drink up,” the bartender interrupted.

  “Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I’ll tell her when she calls me.”

  “I’ve got a few questions for you about the woman you saw with Joey Landis.”

  “The dark-haired woman. Yeah.” Morgan was staring in the mirror at Todd’s reflection. Todd realized that Morgan was piecing it all together. “You know, Joey’s murder seemed too pat to me. I mean, they’re saying that his partner did it over a sour drug deal.”

  Todd stiffened.

  “Hey, I’m not going to tell anybody. I think Amy’s got better taste than to fall in love with a murderer.”

  Todd immediately checked out Morgan’s expression. He wondered whether Morgan’s insight about Amy was correct.

  “Besides, I never liked the babe Joey hung around with. She was good-looking but bitchy. Cheap but haughty. Thought she was better than us all. I think they met here so’s nobody’d know what they were up to. They never snuggled up like lovers but were always intently talking.”

  “Remember anything about the way she looked?”

  “Naw, I’m not good at descriptions. But wait a sec. The old bartender kind of threw a farewell party for himself a couple of weeks before he left. He brought in food, party hats. Hell, you should have seen where some of the people were wearing those hats. Anyway, he’d brought in his Polaroid camera to take photographs to remember us all by.”

  “Was she here that night?”

  “Sure was. She tried to duck the photo shoot several times, finally got pissed and walked out with Joey running a foot or two behind her. Shit, we got a good laugh out of that one, with her dodging and running and the old bartender chasing her like one of those... What they call them fancy photographers that take celebrity pictures?”

  “Paparazzi.”

  “Yeah, yeah. She even tried to take a swing at him.” Morgan chuckled.

  “What’s the bartender’s name, and where can I find him?”

  “Geez, we had a good time that night. I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know the bartender’s name or where he lives?”

  “Neither.”

  “What did people call him?”

  “Melonhead. Totally bald.”

  “He let people call him that?”

  “He had a sense of humor. But don’t look so frustrated. I know where he works out. Been thinking I could use a little of the lifting of the weights myself. I’ll drop in...”

  “Where’s the place?”

  “They wouldn’t let you in the way you look. Besides, Melonhead wouldn’t trust you enough to give you any photographs. Leave it to me.”

  “Let’s go, guys,” Walt interrupted.

  “I miss Melonhead,” Morgan spat out at Walt, and he chugged down the last of his beer. “Tomorrow night at ten at Kay’s. Got it. Have sweet dreams...” Morgan rose, leaned close to Todd and whispered, “Mr. Coleman.”

  Todd closed his eyes and shook his head. What had Amy gotten him into? Here he was, trusting a complete stranger. He’d have a long talk with her.

  ***

  “He’s beating your sister,” Amy blurted out as soon as she entered Kay’s Victorian house.

  “Who?”

  “Michael.”

  “No. Michael’s slime, but he isn’t that low.”

  Amy held up his envelope.

  “I waited at the library on Saturday. Jennie never showed. I was worried, so I went over to her apartment and was roughly greeted by Michael.”

  “Did he hurt you?” Todd grabbed her arms, causing considerable pain himself.

  “Gave me a bad headache for a day or so but I thrust my knee in a place where I knew it would hurt him a lot more. But briefly I saw Jennie. Her face was bruised and swollen.”

  “The bastard!”

  Todd headed for the front door. Amy grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

  “Wait! I didn’t tell you this to set you off half-cocked. Do you have any relatives she can go to?”

  “Relatives?”

  “I’m going to try to reach her and talk her into leaving with the children before he does serious damage. But I need to know how to approach her. Is there someone she trusts besides you?”

  “She’s never going to want to admit her mistake to the family. She’ll refuse to beg at anyone’s door.”

  “What about a woman’s shelter? Do you think I could talk her into going to one of those?”

  “I can settle this...”

  “No, you can’t. If you’re thrown into jail, she’ll have no one. Michael will go back to dealing drugs without having to worry about you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Jennie told me that you were going to report Michael until she talked you out of it. She warned Michael that, with your government contacts, he could be in great trouble.”

  “I told you, she doesn’t know what kind of work I do.”

  “Joey definitely told her.”

  Todd’s chiseled face blanched. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  “From listening to Jennie, I got the impression that he spent a good deal of time at her apartment. She liked him. He made her laugh and was a relief from the doldrums of her days.”

  “He wasn’t supposed to tell her. It could have put her in jeopardy.”

  “She had been balking about taking your money, and Joey wanted to make it easier for her.”

  Todd punched his fist into the wall. Plaster and paint fell away. His knuckles bled.

  He had fought so many years to protect his sister. He had failed to prevent her marriage, but he thought that at least she was untouched by the kind of work he did. What the hell was Joey up to, hanging out with a questionable woman and spilling his guts to Jennie as if their work were common knowledge?

  “Todd, where’s the bathroom? You have to wash that hand.”

  Amy gripped his wrist, but he effortlessly pulled away
from her.

  “Leave, Amy.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Damn it! Get the hell out of here.” His words seemed to resound around the large parlor room in which they stood.

  “No. I’m not going to walk out as easily as the last time. I care about you, Todd, and I refuse to allow you to cut me off as if I were some fluffy dumb broad. We’ll talk this out, and together we’ll figure out who’s fingering you. I know you’re alone except for me.”

  “And Morgan,” he bit out.

  “He doesn’t know anything.”

  “Morgan may be down-and-out, but he’s not stupid. He called me by name the last time we met.”

  Her mouth opened wide.

  “I know you didn’t tell him who I was. You didn’t have to. I guess both of us were careless. I’m at greater fault, since I was too eager for answers.”

  “He won’t talk.” Amy paused. “Will he?”

  “I have to trust that he won’t.”

  Amy drew closer to Todd. She saw a new wrinkle on his brow. The sleepless nights were wearing him out. The blood on his knuckles was coagulating into hardened rivulets.

  “Let’s wash this off,” she said in a calm voice.

  Todd didn’t refuse, instead he showed her the way to the first floor powder room. Dotted Swiss frilly curtains hung on the window. There was a small pedestal stand, the basin of which was decorated with painted flowers. A white towel hung to the side just below a tinted photograph of two toddlers carrying little pails. The room smelled of lavender.

  “This is a charming house,” Amy said while splashing water on Todd’s hand.

  “Kay has good taste, although sometimes she’s a bit too grand for me. My taste runs toward the simple. I don’t have a single picture hanging on the wall of my bathroom.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “Your apartment felt more like home. Especially when I saw all that laundry piled up in the bedroom. Ow! Be careful. You wouldn’t want me to break.” Todd lowered his head so that he could take in the scent of her hair while she patted his knuckles dry.

  “Does she have any antiseptic?” Amy bit her bottom lip. She could feel him move into her and wasn’t sure what she should do. Making love was her immediate reaction; moving away to check the medicine cabinet was her safety precaution.

  “I don’t need an antiseptic,” Todd said, pulling her back against his chest.

  “Yes, you do.” Amy twisted out of his arms and continued her search. “Here.”

  “It’s just going to sting and—”

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little pain.”

  “Look at it. It’s all brown and goopy.”

  “I promise, you won’t feel a thing, and I’ll only put on a thin layer. Any excess I’ll wipe away.”

  When she was finished he thanked her with a kiss, a long, open-mouthed wet kiss that had Amy’s legs quivering, until Todd picked her up and carried her to the master bedroom.

  “I see what you mean,” Amy said, looking up at the massive carved wooden posts at the head of the bed.

  Todd’s eyes followed her gaze. He smiled.

  “Makes me feel like a king.”

  Amy almost asked if that was how he felt when he shared the bed with Kay. But she stopped herself. Ten years ago didn’t mean a thing at this moment. She believed that he and Kay were now friends. Nothing more.

  Slowly they worked each other’s clothes off, viewing each revelation as a first after the painful separation they had experienced. The moon was just past full and filled the room with surreal lighting for their love play. Amy lifted the curve of her body to allow Todd to pull down the chenille bed cover. When she sagged back down, she felt the cool silkiness of satin. She spread her body across the sheet, enjoying the luxurious texture against her hot skin. Todd’s tongue traveled her flesh, lapping at her most sensitive zones. Amy turned her face into the pillow to muffle her climactic cries.

  When she attempted to reverse positions, Todd stopped her.

  “I’ll never last. I have to enter you now,” he said, teasing his way slowly inside.

  Amy couldn’t believe that she was so quickly aroused again, but as Todd covered her mouth with his own groan they both peaked.

  Later they lay together, spoon-fashion. Amy’s breathing was deep with sleep. Todd wanted to keep her enfolded in his arms forever. Because of the kind of work he did, he never thought he could manage a wife and children; however, given the current situation, he was clearly unemployed. What was he thinking? He certainly wouldn’t ask Amy to run off with a murder suspect. His arms gripped her tighter and she moaned but didn’t wake. He kissed the crown of her head and wished that he could discard the past, banish it from the memory of the world, especially the San Francisco police.

  Chapter 21

  Leave

  The dawn was stretching into the master bedroom when Amy woke to the sound of a running shower. The wrinkled sheets and tall wooden posts at the head of the bed reminded her of where she was. Obviously Todd thought there would be no time for lovemaking, but Amy decided to prove him wrong by stepping into the shower with him. Both were gloriously rewarded.

  Later, after Amy dressed, she walked into the kitchen to find that Todd had breakfast on the table.

  “It’s nice having you around. I never have to face work on an empty stomach,” Amy said, snatching a slice of toast from a plate Todd was carrying to a gingham place mat.

  “Nice? Is that the way you describe my company?”

  “Depends on the room we’re in,” Amy whispered close to his ear.

  “Remind me to change your viewpoint of the kitchen sometime.”

  “Any time is fine with me.”

  “We have things to discuss right now.”

  “It’s good that we’re in the kitchen, then. Is that real Vermont syrup?”

  “Kay wouldn’t use anything else. Her grandfather sends her cartons of the stuff from his own trees.”

  “You’re kidding. This is really fresh, then.”

  “I don’t know. Kay’s always worried about her weight. I don’t think she gets around to using the syrup much. Amy, about my sister...”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll call in sick. Wait outside her house, and when Michael leaves I’ll run upstairs and talk to her. Maybe I’ll be able to get her out immediately.”

  “No, I don’t want you putting yourself at risk. I’ll take care of Michael.”

  “Brilliant. He’ll have you arrested. Then what do Jennifer, the children, and I do?”

  “You go back to living your life the way it was before I examined the firm’s books.”

  “Can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I think I’m in love with you. I’ll need a little more time to make sure. I definitely don’t want to make a mistake, given the circumstances and all. But—”

  “Amy, I...”

  She carefully placed her knife and fork on the edge of her plate and looked into Todd’s eyes.

  “I,” she said encouragingly.

  Todd cleared his throat.

  “Amy, I have to take care of my sister myself.”

  “And me?”

  “Amy, I’m wanted for murder. And even if this whole mess blows over, my job doesn’t permit me to have a normal life.”

  “You can be retrained. There are lots of programs out there. In the meantime, I’ll keep my job until we want to start a family.”

  Todd closed his eyes. A mistake, he decided, when a vision of Amy cradling an infant popped into his mind.

  “No!” he said, crashing his sore hand down on the table. “I’m set in my ways. I’m not going to change my career and the way I live my life.”

  “Oh, inflexibility. That’s the first fault I’ve found in you. Besides the fact you’re wanted for murder, but then you and I know you didn’t commit the crime.”

  “I have lots of faults, Amy. A warehouse of faults. From the smallest detail of my life right on up to my...”
Todd hesitated; he wasn’t sure how far he wanted to press the issue. What the hell, he decided he may as well go all the way for Amy’s sake. “...womanizing!”

  “That kind of experience actually may be a plus.” Amy hid the twinge of jealousy. She knew he meant to hurt, to drive her away, and she wouldn’t let him. Wanting to change the topic, Amy brought the subject back to Todd’s sister.

  “Anyway, what can you do about Jennie? The police may be watching her house, waiting for you to show. I certainly can get in easier than you.”

  “Amy, I don’t want you endangering yourself with Michael.”

  “I have an idea.”

  ***

  Todd hadn’t liked the idea when she first broached it over breakfast, but he couldn’t come up with an alternative. Therefore, the two of them sat in a car Amy had rented. She hadn’t driven in several years, and it showed.

  “Perhaps I should drive.”

  “The car’s in my name.”

  “Damn it, look out for that trolley.”

  “Stop being a backseat driver. It makes plenty of noise; I can hear it coming.”

  She had suggested renting the car to give Todd a low profile on the street, but with her driving, he figured he’d be in jail before the morning was over.

  “There’s the building over there,” she said.

  “Watch where you’re going.”

  Amy had inadvertently steered into the direction of the building and narrowly missed a car coming in the opposite direction.

  “I drive on the way back.”

  Amy decided to let his statement stand. She’d keep the keys in her pocket; then there wouldn’t be much to argue about.

  “Thank goodness, a parking space,” Amy said.

  Todd watched as an old Pinto pulled out of a small space. He covered his eyes, unable to bear the view of the battle Amy was going to have to fight to fit into the parking space. However, Todd was amazed when seconds later Amy shut off the engine and Todd opened his eyes to see that they were perfectly parked parallel to the curb.

  “Why can’t you drive the way you park?”

  “I’m a good driver. Only once in a while my attention wanders.”