by Tim Myers
“Funny, and here I thought I was cleaning up after you. By the way, I like how you redecorated my place.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t even sure you’d be able to tell I’d been there.”
“We managed to get quite a bit of the litter you left hanging around.” I was close to it now, but I didn’t want to give any of the law enforcement folks there any idea what I’d done.
“I was wondering what happened to my friends.”
He was pushing it, and he knew it. If Harkins admitted that Bowen, Jim and I had taken out his flunkies, I’d have an even tougher time getting out of that house after the phone call. Then again, I knew how deeply the aversion to any authority was in Dogtown. Harkins and I might be in direct opposition, but we were still Brothers of the Wolf, and that counted for something.
“Things happen,” I said.
“Sometimes they happen to you.”
I didn’t care what Mulberry wanted, I was getting fed up with this. “Why did you want to talk to me? If you want to catch up on old times, I’ll take you out to dinner. How’s that sound?”
The FBI man scowled, but I didn’t care.
“Quit screwing around, Trask. I want you to make the money drop,” he said. “You know Dogtown.”
“Do you think you can trust me just because we’re both werewolves?” I asked. “That only cuts so far.”
“I know it better than you do. You’re the devil I know, though. I know what you’re going to do before you do it.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
I looked around the room, and caught a glimpse of Stephanie Granger in the hallway. She looked like she was falling apart. I had a sudden thought.
“Before I agree to do anything for you, I need to talk to Jennifer,” I said. “Then we can talk about the money.”
“You’re not making the rules,” Harkins snapped. “I am, and don’t forget it.”
“If you want me to help you get the money, I have to know that the girl is still alive.”
There was a pause, then I heard a young woman’s voice. It was soft and trembling. “This is Jennifer Granger.”
“Hi, Jennifer. Your parents hired me to find you. Would you mind telling me your mother’s maiden name?”
“It’s Simmons. Why?”
“Simmons,” I said, and watched Stephanie Granger nod in agreement.
“That’s good. I just wanted to make sure you were who Harkins says you were.”
She whispered, “Give him what he wants. Anything, do you hear me?”
Her voice cut out abruptly, and Harkins came back on the line. “The old railroad tracks at the overpass. Bring the money, and come alone. If anybody follows you, I’ll kill her. If the money’s not there in an hour, I’ll kill her. If I get the smallest scent that something is wrong, I’ll kill her.”
“It sounds like you’ve got it all planned out,” I said, but he’d already hung up.
I looked at Mulberry. “Did you get your trace?”
Mulberry glanced at one of his men, who frowned, then said, “He was somewhere in the lower section, but that was all we could get.”
“It’s called Dogtown,” I said.
Mulberry waved it off. “That’s it. You can go now.”
“You don’t need me for the drop?” I was surprised he hadn’t taken Harkins’ threats more seriously.
“I’m not about to trust you with two dollars, let alone two hundred thousand. For all I know, the two of you planned this whole thing out together.”
I couldn’t believe this asshole was going to jeopardize Jennifer Granger’s life just because he didn’t like me. “But that’s the thing. You don’t know. Ask him about me,” I said as I pointed to Dalton.
Dalton nodded as he said, “You can trust him on this. I wouldn’t exactly let him use me as a character reference, but he wouldn’t be involved in this, not in a million years.”
“That’s your opinion,” Mulberry said.
“Yeah, well, you know what they say about opinions. If it was me, I’d do as Harkins said. He didn’t sound like he was messing around, at least from what I heard.”
“It’s not your decision to make though, is it,” Mulberry said.
Stephanie Granger finally couldn’t take it any more. “And it’s not yours, either. If this monster wants things done a certain way, then we’ll do just as he asks. I don’t care about catching him. I just want my baby girl back.”
Mulberry said, “Ma’am, I have to tell you that this whole thing might be a set-up. He,” he said as he gestured to me, “could be in on it, too.”
Stephanie shook her head. “You don’t understand, do you? He’s helping me. I won’t believe he’s a part of this.”
It was a nice show of faith, and I nodded my thanks in her direction. She’d seen what no one else in the room had. I had promised her my best, and I was going to deliver it. It made me glad I’d taken the case, even with everything that had happened over the last two days.
Her husband came in behind her, and he could barely look at me. Mulberry treated him like an ally, though. “Mr. Granger, it’s important that you convince your wife to work with us on this. We can have an agent here with this man’s general description in an hour. There are too many risks involved with this to allow him to participate.”
“I stand by my wife’s decision,” he said, and it must have cost him something dearly from the way he said it.
Mulberry stared at him for a few seconds, then snapped, “Fine. It’s your daughter, and the money’s yours.” He turned to me. “I’m going to have somebody on your tail every second, so don’t get any cute ideas about skipping out with the money yourself.”
“I never skip,” I said. “I might gallop or run, but no skipping. I promise.”
He shook his head in disgust, then turned to Dalton. “You vouched for him, so if something goes wrong, you’re taking the heat for it.”
Dalton didn’t look too concerned by the threat. “And if it goes right, who gets the credit?”
It was as if Mulberry hadn’t even heard him. He turned to one of his own and said, “Get me the bag, and make sure the transponders are in it.”
“Harkins isn’t stupid,” I said. “He’s going to know you’re tracking him.”
“We’ve got one for him to find, and one buried in the money. I’m sure he’s not all that clever.”
“Why, because he’s a werewolf?” I asked.
Mulberry shrugged, and I had to bite back the beast, no matter how much I wanted to let it loose and show him just how dangerous a game he was playing with me.
He grabbed my jumpsuit and pushed a small silver button into the fabric.
“What’s that for?”
Mulberry said, “If you take off with the money, we’ll track you down and hang you in the square in prime time. You got it? Don’t screw this up.”
“When you put it so nicely, how could I refuse?”
One of the FBI men came up with an overnight bag, and he handed it to his boss. Mulberry opened the zipper, and I saw the bills were inside before he closed it back up. He didn’t want to release it to me-I could tell by the way his knuckles were white on the grip.
Finally, I said, “You’ll have to let go, if I’m going to deliver it.”
“I don’t like this,” he said, retaining his grip. Mulberry turned to the man who’d brought the bag. “Johnson. Go get into the back seat of his car. If he does anything the least bit suspicious, shoot him.”
“Hang on a second,” I protested. “How does he know what’s suspicious? Are willing to take a chance that Harkins might find out what you’re doing? He told me to come alone.”
“And I’m not listening to a criminal, you got that? Either Johnson goes with you, or nobody goes.”
“It’s your funeral,” I said, before I remembered the Grangers could hear me. It was an unfortunate choice of words, but I meant it.
It looked like Stephanie was about to protest when her husband said, “We have to
trust the FBI, you see that, don’t you?”
“But she’s our only child,” Stephanie said.
“That’s why we have to do everything we can to get her back,” her husband said.
Mulberry turned to his man. “Go.”
Johnson nodded, then slipped out the front, no doubt to settle into the back seat of my car. I hadn’t cleaned it out in while, and he was going to get some stains on that pretty suit of his, but I didn’t care.
“I just want to repeat that this is a bad idea,” I said.
Mulberry snapped, “The fact that you’re not happy about it is just a bonus for me. My man will keep you from trying anything tricky. Just do as you’re told.”
I looked at Dalton, and while it was clear he wasn’t any happier with the situation than I was, there was nothing he could do about it, either.
I was beating my head against the wall, and nothing was going to change.
“Then I guess I’d better get going.”
I drove toward the railroad tracks in Dogtown with Agent Johnson lying down in the back seat.
I asked, “Do you want to ride up front with me until we get closer to the drop? I doubt Harkins has anybody watching my car yet.”
“No thanks. I’ve got my orders.”
“And you always carry them out, don’t you?”
That didn’t get a response, but it was okay. I didn’t feel much like talking anyway. The bag with the money was beside me, and I touched it lightly. What made Harkins ask for two hundred thousand? Why not five hundred thousand, or an even million? With the house I’d just been in, it was hard to imagine Stephanie Granger couldn’t afford whatever price he named to get her daughter back. I’d have to ask Harkins when I found him. In a way it was funny. All the running around I’d been doing looking for him, and he’d made the invitation for us to meet face to face himself.
Now if I only survived it. I had no illusions that Harkins would play fair. Once he had the money, what would keep him from attacking me? I couldn’t count on Johnson for my safety. He might be properly trained by the FBI, but I doubted he’d had much experience fighting hopped up werewolves. I’d only done it once myself, and it had been more than enough.
“We’re getting close,” I said as the sky seemed to darken. Whether it was just my mood or not, I couldn’t honestly say.
Johnson didn’t answer, and I was about to make a crack about his conversation skills when my cell phone rang.
“Don’t answer that,” the FBI man in back said. “You need to stay focused on what you’ve been instructed to do.”
“Sorry, but I don’t work for you,” I said as I flipped the telephone open.
It was a good thing I answered, because Harkins was on the other end of the line. “That’s a good boy, Trask. Do as I say, and I might let you live.”
“Sorry I can’t make you the same offer, Harkins,” I said so Johnson could hear who I was talking to.
“We’ll see how much smack you can talk with your throat ripped out,” he said.
He was as charming as ever. “Enough small talk. Where do I need to drop the money so the Grangers can get their daughter back?”
“Come down by the trestle and we’ll make the switch,” he said. There was a pause, and then his voice got angry. “Wait a second. What are you trying to pull, Trask?”
Had he spotted Johnson already? “What are you talking about? I’ve got the money right here, every dollar of it. I’m doing this just like you told me to.”
“Someone’s in the car with you, asshole.”
I glanced at the FBI agent in the backseat. How could Harkins know I had a passenger with me?
“I’m all alone.”
“Don’t lie to me; I can hear him breathing. I told you to come alone!” As he said it, the connection cut off and a split second later, a bullet punched through my windshield. If I hadn’t been expecting Harkins to try something, it would have caught me dead square in the forehead, but I ducked at the last second. I did an evasive turn, and tore out of there before he got another chance at me.
“What just happened?” Johnson screamed.
“He knew you were here,” I snapped as I sped away. “Don’t lay this on me. I did everything you people told me to, and I almost got shot because of it.”
“We never made the drop,” Johnson yelled. “What am I going to tell Mulberry?”
“Tell him he screwed up,” I said.
In a candid moment, Johnson said, “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to go over too well.”
“I’ll back you up. It’s not your fault,” I said. With Bailey’s elixir, I had to wonder if Harkins had enhanced hearing as well as his other senses and abilities. It had made him into a super werewolf, but what else was it doing to him? What were the long term effects of the potion, or did it really matter? The way Harkins was going, I didn’t expect him to have much a life expectancy. Maybe that was it. The potion took away caution and prudence, along with everything else it gave its recipients.
I heard Johnson talking to his boss on his phone as I drove back to the Granger mansion, but I tuned most of it out. We all had our own set of problems, and mine hadn’t gotten any easier with the new complications.
Mulberry was waiting for us outside the house with a crowd gathered around him. The second I stepped out of my car, he said, “Cuff him.”
I started to shift into full werewolf form without thinking, then fought the beast back into its cage. It was time to be circumspect, not give him another excuse to ship me off to New Pitcairn.
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Johnson said, surprising me by jumping to my defense.
“He tipped Harkins off that you were with him,” Mulberry said.
I couldn’t believe it, but Johnson was actually defending me. “Harkins heard me. I don’t know how he did it, but he knew I was there. You can’t blame Trask.”
Mulberry got up in his face. “I can blame whoever I want to, and if you don’t step down this instant, you’re going to be cuffed right along side him.”
That shut Johnson up.
“Now do as I say. Put the cuffs on him and stick him in the back of my car,” Mulberry ordered one of his men as Stephanie Granger walked outside.
“What’s going on here?”
“I’m taking Trask in for questioning. Harkins knew he had one of my men in the car with him. This guy had to have tipped him off somehow.”
Stephanie’s face turned red. “So you’re going to arrest him on a suspicion?”
As the handcuffs bit into my wrists, I said, “There’s something you should understand. There are two sets of rules; one for norms like you, and another for my kind.”
“Shut up before I muzzle you, wolf boy,” Mulberry yelled.
“Let him go,” Stephanie said softly.
Mulberry’s head snapped around as he looked at her. “Pardon me? I’m sorry, but you’re not in any position to give me orders. I’m in charge of this situation. It’s my decision, and I say he goes with me.”
She shook her head. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand. Call your supervisor.” Stephanie handed him her cell. “Here, you can use my phone.”
He ignored the offer, then said, “Excuse me a second,” as he walked out of earshot and made the call.
Two minutes later, he was back. “Take the cuffs off him and let him go.”
“But, sir, you said…”
“I know what I said, and I know what I’m telling you right now. Let him go.”
The junior agent did as he was told, and Mulberry asked Stephanie, “Is there anything else you require from me?”
“No, you and your men can go,” she said.
“Let’s move out,” Mulberry said loudly, being careful not to make eye contact with me or my employer.
Johnson shrugged when our gazes met, and I could see he was suppressing a smile. I couldn’t believe it, but in three minutes, they were all packed up and gone, including Dalton.
Stephanie waited until
the last car was off the property, then turned to me and said, “I bought you forty eight hours, but after that, I’m going to have to take you off the case and turn it back over to them.”
I rubbed my wrists where they’d chafed under the cuffs. “I don’t know how you did it, and I’m not sure I want to know. The FBI isn’t known for giving up and walking away.”
“Let’s just say a friend of friend owed me a favor, and leave it at that. Two days, Mr. Trask. After that, I can’t promise you anything.”
“I’ll find her,” I said. I hesitated at the door of my car, then turned back to her. “Can I ask you something?”
“I may or may not answer, but go ahead.”
I chose my words carefully as I asked, “Why didn’t you get your friend to find your daughter instead of me?”
She thought about it a second, then said, “It’s a fair question. I went to him first, but he told me I’d be better off getting someone who knew Dogtown and its residents. Are you offended you weren’t my first choice?”
“No, ma’am. I’m just glad I made the list.” I got into my car-its windshield starred like a sunburst from the bullet hole-and drove back to Dogtown.
I was sure Harkins would be gone from his spot under the trestle, but maybe he’d left me a clue to his whereabouts, whether he meant to or not.
I was walking up and down the tracks near the aborted
drop-off point looking for something that might help-a shell casing, a wrapper, even a map to where Harkins was now-when I saw a figure looming in the shadows. Taking my gun out of my jacket, I thumbed off the safety and moved forward.
“Are you going to shoot me, or is that just your way of saying you missed me?” Belle stepped out of the shadows.
I put my gun away. “What are you doing here?”
“I just got back into town, and the first thing I hear is somebody’s taking shots at you. I told you stay out of trouble before I left, Trask. That’s the problem with you men, you just don’t listen.”
“How’d you find out what happened so fast?”
She laughed. “This is Dogtown. Everybody knows everyone else’s business, you know that. I’m glad I didn’t find your body when I came down here. I was halfway expecting it.”