The Coconut Swindle (Black Cape Case Files Book 2)

by Matt Abraham

  I stopped and said, “Hey buddy, any work left up there?”

  He looked me up and down. “Who’s asking?”

  Sighing, I ran five fingers through my wet hair. “A guy who’s one second from just beating the answer out of you.”

  He put both hands up. “Whoa, you can’t blame a guy for being cautious.”

  “I can’t blame him, but I can sure as hell see how much dirty shovel can fit in his mouth.” I took a step forward, ready to make good on that promise.

  He jumped back. “Ok, yeah. All the work’s done. The shockcrete dried about ten minutes back. I got the soil over them both. It was real respectful, I promise.”

  I looked up the hill. “How many you plant?”

  “Just those two.” He looked nervous. “Thermite and that other one, the computer guy.”

  “Firewall?”

  “Yeah, sure, that’s the one.”

  I pushed him out of my way and walked towards the graves. I needed to see for myself. And sure enough I found two fresh mounds of dark dirt. The tombstones weren’t there yet, but they’d arrive soon.

  Thermite and Firewall.

  They shared a childhood, then a cell, and now they’d share this field for eternity, along with the evidence I needed to save my agency. I took one last look around. The stones on Ayers Hill were all worn and cracked. They made it look like a pile of broken dreams.

  I could almost see where mine were lying.

  Chapter 18

  After my thwarting at Ayers I felt, and smelled, awful. So before returning to the office I stopped at my place for a hot shower. First I scrubbed the remnants of Bittenbach Bay off. Then the thin film Swamp had left behind the night before. And by the time I washed the layer of standard city grime from my skin I was ready to think about the case. Or more importantly, what just happened.

  Someone tried to kill me. While I was with a cop. That wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t actually onto something. But what that something was still eluded. So I tried to figure out who wanted me dead. There was Swamp and his pale friend Vec. Neither one loved me, but they could’ve killed me last night if they wanted me stiff. Bundy was suspect, but he’s not the type to get his hands dirty. Which meant that whoever the unknown driver was, he probably killed the boys. That meant-

  My front door slammed.

  I turned off the water and pulled the shower curtain aside. “Who’s there?”

  No answer.

  Stepping out of the tub I said, “Hello?”

  Still nothing.

  Was that the guy who shoved me into the drink, come to finish the job? How’d he find me? Only Carl Cutter and Mrs. West have this address. No time for thinking. I needed my pistols.

  But they were hanging on my coat rack next to the door. Which meant I’d have to use my fists. I wrapped the nearest towel around my waist, ran through the kitchen, and into the living room. The intruder was standing between me and my iron, defiant and familiar.

  I said, “God damn it, Tera.”

  Doodle’s mom looked like she was on the way to church in a bright yellow sundress and matching hat. Her hands were on her round hips. She looked down with a smile, and in her island spiced accent said, “Couldn’t of picked a smaller towel?”

  I followed her gaze, and saw she was right. The thing barely wrapped around my waist, and hardly reached halfway down my thighs. “You got no right to complain about how you’re received when you break into my house.”

  “The door was unlocked. And I’m definitely not complaining. You’ve taken care of yourself. Same knobbly face, but that big body’s still firm. Still hard. But is it still susceptible to sonics?” Tera opened her mouth.

  “Don’t.” I dropped the towel and clamped both hands on my ears.

  But no sound came from between her lips. Instead she gave my lower body a not so quick once over. “Yeah,” she said, “still firm.”

  “Cute.” I grabbed the towel off the floor and wrapped it around me. “Wish I could say the same. That skin tight stuff doesn’t suit a mom your age.”

  She scrunched up her nose. “That’s a lie.”

  Looking at her body all I could say was, “Yeah. I guess it is. Now why are you here?”

  “To tell you to leave Sketch alone.”

  “It’s been nearly ten years since I saw her last, and you’re asking me that?”

  She smiled in a way that happy people don’t. “I’m not really asking.”

  “Then I’m not really listening.”

  “Dane, you know I-”

  “You’re here on a job, and you got our kid in the mix.”

  She snapped to me. “Of course. And I need Sketch’s head in the game, not full of your silly dreams.”

  “Yeah. Silly. As opposed to the serious life of crime you’re priming her for.”

  “Stay away from her. It’s too late for you to act like a dad.”

  “And it’s never too late for you to act like a mom. Do you want her in jail like that scumbag brother of yours? Or your uncle? Jeezus, tell me you realize the road you got her on leads to Ayers or Impenetron.”

  “I’ll die before that happens.”

  “If you’d live for her, that would be better.”

  “Stay away. You don’t want to know what I’ll do to keep us on track.” Tera walked over. And I got a deep whiff of her flower perfume as she grabbed my jaw and kissed me hard. Her open mouth was sweet and wet. Sucking on it was like biting into a ripe pear. And I took it all in as my brain soaked in that old familiar hormone that makes men do dumb things.

  Tera slid her hand over my chest, down my stomach, and inside the towel. But I grabbed it.

  And pushed it lower.

  Then I shoved her away. “Quit it.”

  “I would.” She licked my spit off her lips. “If you didn’t like it so much.”

  “What I’d like is for you to let our kid live a life like a normal person.”

  That got the smile off her face, and she moved away from me. “What you mean is average. Weak. Too scared of her own power to use it.”

  “It’s called being careful.”

  “A fancy term for cowardice.”

  I stepped to the tiny islander, lording my size over her. “How come you always want me to hit you?”

  She stared up at me without fear. “How come you’ve never been man enough to try?”

  I grabbed her arms and shook her once. “You damaged bitch, I won’t let my daughter turn out like you.”

  Tera opened her mouth and let out a scream. The sonic blast hit my chest and knocked me over the sofa. I landed on my back, but jumped up quick. Grabbing my end table, I threw it towards her. And ran right after it.

  Tera screamed again. The table exploded in midair.

  I charged through the cloud of splinters. And clamped my hand around her mouth. I didn’t squeeze hard, but my seal was tight enough to muffle her wail.

  “Stop it already,” I said. “I won’t hurt you.”

  Tera’s eyes had some of that old fire, but now it was burning on a lower heat.

  “I know you love Doodle. I do too. And I just want what’s best for her. Can you really say that’s what this job is?”

  My ex glanced down. Her shoulders relaxed.

  “Good. Now I’m going to let you go. No more sonics.” I eased up on my grip.

  Tera rubbed her jaw. And emitted a high-pitched shriek.

  Pain shot through my head. I covered both ears. It didn’t help. Scrambling backwards I clipped my coffee table and tumbled onto the carpet. I struggled to get away. But Tera’s voice got worse. I pulled into a ball like a dead armadillo. It felt like my skull was expanding.

  And the thing is, she still didn’t let up. It took another couple of painful seconds before my world finally went quiet.

  By then Tera was standing at my open door. She said, “Sketch is like me, and we’re doing this job whether you like it or not. Afterwards, we’re leaving town. But until then stay away, or things will get much worse
.” She turned to leave.

  I got to my feet and lumbered towards her. “Stop.”

  Amazingly she obliged. “What?”

  “Don’t you want a life for that kid where she doesn’t have to commit crimes in order to eat?”

  Tera looked around my apartment. “You know, even if it all goes to hell whatever’s left over will look a lot better than this.”

  Then Tera walked out my door.

  This time I didn’t try to stop her.

  Chapter 19

  After Tera left I threw on a clean suit, hailed a cab, and headed to the office where I found that Mrs. West had returned from her errands. “You smell like soap,” she said.

  “That’s because I showered.”

  “Is it Thursday already?”

  “If so then you should’ve been gone for a week.”

  She cut a spoiled milk smile. “Someone’s waiting in your office.”

  “They have a name or do I got to guess?”

  “It’s Dastard Lee.” Mrs. West opened the door for me and said, “He’s here.”

  Lee was sitting on the sofa in her usual cammo pants and striped shirt. “Thanks Wags. So when’re you moving east?”

  “Tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure I did all I could for this agency before I left.”

  I walked into my office. “She should be long gone already.”

  Lee shot me a glance that could split oak, then looked at Mrs. West. “You always did fret too much. It never helped before, and I doubt it’ll do much now.”

  “I guess it’s in my nature. You two have a good meeting. Afterwards we can-”

  I shut the door on her. “I didn’t know you knew my girl.”

  “I knew her back when she was a girl. And you should show her more kindness. She loves this agency and what it’s done. Almost as much as she loved Carl.”

  “We all loved Carl.”

  “And Carl loved some of us back more than others.”

  I took a seat behind my desk. “That’s not my fault.”

  “No, I guess not,” she said. “Listen, I’m here-”

  “About that furniture I busted? I can cut you a check.”

  “What?” Lee looked confused. “You mean with Slamazon and Kalamity? No, don’t worry about that. But be warned, if this noise with Dread Division doesn’t die down I may have to ban you.”

  “Great.” Henchmen’s was the most valuable asset a PI like me had. I rubbed my face and tossed my hat on the desk. “So why are you here, you got news on Thermite and Firewall?”

  “Sorry, strike two. No one I know heard the names.”

  “More good news. First a big, black truck shoves me into Bittenbach Bay, then-”

  “Someone in a truck took a swipe at you?” Lee looked at her lap and got all solemn on me. “So I’m too late.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She looked up and said, “I came here to warn you, Scourge’s back in town.”

  I straightened up. “How could you possibly know that?”

  “One of my bar boys, Psy-ball, spied him this morning, near the docks. Next to a nighttime colored pickup.”

  “God damn it, that was him?” I jumped up. And drove a fist through my desk. The strike left a nice hole in its center. “How long? How long’s he been here?”

  Lee had both hands up. “I don’t know. All I-”

  “And that nervy bastard tried to cadaverize me?” Fire jumped into my throat. I savored the burn. “The guts he’s got, if that’s-” I stopped dead. “Wait. He wouldn’t move on me without muscle. Who’s in his back pocket?”

  She took a big breath of air, and let it out slow. “Gunmetal.”

  “He hired Gunmetal Gray?” You know that fire in my throat? I swallowed it and fell back in my chair. “You’re certain?”

  “Yeah. Psy-ball spotted them both.” Lee leaned forward and rubbed my arm. “Sorry kid. I hate to bring the bad news. But it could be worse.”

  “How? How could it be worse than Gunmetal Gray?”

  “I don’t know. It’s something people tell each other.” A silence thick like Georgia air in summer settled over us. We soaked in it for a while until finally Lee said, “Anyway, that’s all the news that’s fit. I’m going to catch up with Wags. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with Scourge.”

  “There is. If you see him let me know.”

  “Sure thing.” Lee got up, opened my door, but then stopped. “Hey, I know you’re a big boy, but do me a favor and be careful. These days black capes are dying like fruit flies in winter.”

  Not looking up I said, “I will.”

  “I’m serious. I’ve had enough with the corpses in my place. Hell, that dame Widow from the Spinnerettes dragged another one in this morning for a final drink. I don’t want that to happen to you, so be smart, huh?” She walked out to my waiting room, pulled up a chair next to Mrs. West, and the two started clucking like happy hens.

  Meanwhile I looked out my window. And thought about the news that just fell into my lap.

  Scourge was back in town. And he tried to kill me. That meant I was onto something. It also meant I knew who Widow’s third man was. But what I didn’t know-

  Wait. What did Lee say?

  I got up and walked into the waiting room. Both dames clammed and turned to me.

  “Hey Lee,” I said, “what’d you say about Widow?”

  “She just lost a relative. I could tell it was someone special the way she was clutching that urn.”

  “Urn?” I said.

  “Yeah. She’s dumping the ashes at Jutter’s Mill. Apparently it was a special place for her and whoever’s in there.”

  My mouth went dry. “You know who got planted on Ayers today?”

  Lee looked at Mrs. West, then back at me. “No clue. I mean Hard Drive went in, or what was left after Al Mighty, but I don’t know who else-”

  I charged into my office, grabbed my hat, and raced back out.

  As I passed the girls Mrs. West said, “Where are you off to now?”

  “The beach.”

  She looked out the window. “But it’s not sunny out.”

  I flung open the door. “Oh yes it is.”

  Chapter 20

  I ran down the stairs, aimed my car towards Jutter’s Mill Beach, and stomped on the gas so hard I nearly put my heel through the floorboard. The buildings outside flew by, and for every blurry mile I reflected on that cryptic crypt keeper and what he said. Thermite and the computer guy… He meant Hard Drive, not Firewall.

  Normally I’d be fighting the urge to track him down and pulp him raw, but this was, in every way, great news.

  See, Thermite and Firewall had been fused together when they died, so tightly that they had to be pried apart. But the cops weren’t too careful with the process, and Firewall left a hand on his partner’s arm which Thermite traded for a couple of fingers. Fingers that would’ve survived the crematorium flames, thanks to their fireproof nature, and might still be coated with some residue from the accelerant that killed him.

  If that was the case then they’d be inside Firewall’s urn. Or they would be until Widow dumped them into the ocean blue.

  I arrived at Jutter’s Mill twenty minutes later. The parking lot was nearly deserted. In the corner sat a pair of dumpy vans, and a row of rusted bikes. But on the other side was one very nice dark blue auto with a longer than normal hood full of chrome exhaust ports, and an ornamental silver spider on its nose.

  I charged past it, and scanned the beach. Widow, still in black, was fifty yards down the coast, ankle deep in the surf. In one hand was an urn.

  In another, the lid.

  I yelled, “No, don’t.”

  But she didn’t acknowledge me.

  So I leapt onto the beach. My feet dug into the dry sand and I spilled forward. Getting up on one knee I cupped both hands around my mouth and screamed, “Stop.”

  The wind kicked up. Widow held the urn out. And began to tip it over.

  I took a dee
p breath and yelled, “Mandy Marcus, stop right there.”

  Widow snapped to, and turned my way. She put a third hand on her forehead.

  I got up and ran over. “Don’t dump those ashes.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s about your brother. I…” Didn’t know how to phrase this. “I have to look in him for a second.”

  “You. What?” Widow walked out of the water with a look on her face that screamed duck.

  “It sounds bad, I know, but-”

  “No you ghoul, it doesn’t sound bad, it is bad. I assume you mean to…” She swallowed. “Sift through his ashes.”

  “Yes, that’s what it means. Or more importantly, I want to see if any bits of Leo are in there.” I continued with my reasoning as quick as I could. I tried to be clear. And I tried to be kind.

  Widow listened intently. When I finished she stood there chewing it over.

  I knew she would acquiesce. This was the best, and maybe only, way to find her brother’s killer. I was still prepared for a fist or three to fly my way though. But instead of splitting my lip, Widow’s shoulders went weak and she held out the urn. “Sure. It’s not like Tony’ll care.”

  “Thanks.” I grabbed it.

  But she didn’t let go. “That’s my brother you’re running your fingers through. So be gentle.”

  “For certain.” I took the urn and spun around. Then I dipped my paw into the ashes like a bear with a honey pot. I was expecting them to be coarse, with bigger parts still un-burnt. But the remains were fine like sand. I pushed deeper, all the way to the bottom, and searched for thirty seconds. It was twenty more than I needed. There was no one inside but Anthony.

  I removed my hand, making sure I didn’t take any bits with me, then turned around and handed him back to his sister. “I’m sorry.”

  Widow nodded. A tear broke free, ran down to her chin, and leapt to its fate among the grains of sand below. “That’s ok. Now if you’ll excuse me.” She turned and walked back into the ocean as a cold breeze came in soft.

  I removed my hat, held it over my heart, and bowed my head.