St James Gate (James Webb Rescue Book 1)

by BL Burke

  Through the long damp hall the one Edison bulb cast shadows of the morbid doctor, the nurse and his patient on their way to the morgue. They passed the graffiti outlines of the US Bank building, the Hilton, courthouse and some other ones he didn’t know. A bright purple signature said, ‘Sinner.’

  Through a second iron door they reached the cargo elevator. James pulled down the gate and leaned against the wall. He thought about the last second before he shot the Taser. One second, that’s all anything needs to collapse. The elevator dinged at the first floor and a loud diesel engine revved outside the red brick walls.

  “The room secure?” James asked. It was one second between Shadow living and dying.

  “All doors are locked,” Renee said. He pushed out the gurney into the cool warehouse. He felt the coolness of the receiving dock. Like that night when he could barely make out his own breath, in the park there were no more bugs, no people. Just Shadow and James, peaceful. That feeling, to have his dog, his best friend running, kissing and loving him no matter what.

  They moved the cart next to the wooden crates that he built and could’ve easily been recognized as coffins. Renee came up behind him and put her arm through his. He looked at her. For the first time her face showed the wrinkles of worry.

  “Think he’ll fit?” Renee asked with a weak smile. James nodded.

  “Ready?” James said. Renee nodded and moved to the feet. He grabbed under the arms and lifted. His hands felt sweaty. She was clenching her teeth.

  “Losing it,” Renee said, sweat started to drip in the shadowed light. He tried to re-grip the body, but it was too fast. The crunching cracking sounds of wood and bone exploded throughout the dock.

  Tomas’ head wasn’t quiet in the box and not straight forward. He wide eyes were looking up at James while his body faced the floor. James felt the stare as if the man was still alive and trying to freeze him. James used his heel and pushed the head into the box.

  Renee grabbed the framing nailer and James put the lid on. He held it in place as she secured the top.

  James checked his watch and lit up a Pall Mall. Renee took a seat on a box filled with junk from the previous tenant.

  She waived the smoke away as it drifted toward her.

  “That’s gonna kill you,”

  “A lot of things might,” he said almost without thinking. He looked up at her, more worry lines had grown.

  James tried to cock a smile, “I could get hit by a car tomorrow, or drown while fishing.”

  “You don’t fish,”

  James looked at the empty coffins, all were destined for fire. There would be no names. No funerals of the men who entered. There would be no closure for anyone they left behind. It would be an emptiness that could never be filled. James would always feel it.

  “Would you say that to your mom?”

  “You know I would… she’d just shrug.” James shot back.

  “What about your sister? What’s gonna happen to her when this blows up?”

  His arm popped out and he caught her looking at it. A permanent scar from the cowardly attack.

  “They all deserve these boxes.” Every one of the animals who’d hurt dogs… every punk who’d hang a cat or ever bastard that abused a sow. If he ever was able he’d do the same to the Japanese that fish for sharks, cut their fins off and toss them back into the sea to drown. He’d club people who do the same to baby seals. James could see himself cutting the nose off Rhinoceros poachers and pin skins of Tiger murderers to their own walls.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket, he answered it as he pulled it out.

  “Hello?” A voice said.

  “Cindy?” James said looking at Renee.

  “Hi, you there?”

  “Yes,” James sighed. She was sounding cheerier than when she left.

  “Hey I was thinking about a nice Sunday brunch tomorrow,” she said. The annoying sounds of a truck backing up came from the other side of the metal dock door. “James?” She said. “You at the rescue still?”

  “For a little while still,” James shifted the phone to his neck and pulled on the door chain. The metal wheels rumbled in their tracks. He couldn’t let her know, “sure brunch.”

  “I thought you left?” Cindy said.

  Mario looked up at them. “Pickup time killer.” James put his finger to his mouth.

  “Who’s that?”

  “Just Mario,” James said. “Listen, I gotta go,”

  “Okay, be at my place at ten.” James jumped down the three feet to the ground.

  Cindy sighed, “Kate too.”

  “Sound’s good,” James hung up the phone and motioned for Renee to push the crate toward him and Mario. He grabbed a cross slate and started to pull.

  “Let’s get him in there,” they slowly moved it off the edge. “A quick lift and slide it in.” James looked at Mario as the crate teetered on the edge.

  “Ready?” James said.

  “Is that a coffin?” a voice yelled.

  Chapter 30

  Perry walked as if in a trance, his feet just carried him down the stairs. He did recognize the man before, just couldn’t place him, Kieron’s description, their past. Perry cracked the fingers on his hand, he felt sweat drip down his temple. It was now worse than he thought. What happened to the kid what they… he did.

  “No, no,” Perry shook it from his head. It didn’t matter. His brother was out there with that man. He must find out where Eddie is… if he’s even alive.

  Why didn’t he see it sooner, the face, James. He never gave him a name, never spoke of it. An empty place in his past. He remembered the horror of that night. Not one he’d want to repeat, ever. And today, the kid’s shock or anger. He remembered Perry, something in his eyes told him he thought often about that reunion.

  “He didn’t say anything.” Perry said quietly. If he just saw someone who attacked him, he would’ve freaked out, screamed… but James seemed almost ambivalent. Nobody would help him. Marshall his partner, supposed best friend… he was hiding something and not just about ADA Webb.

  He started his car, he thought about Charlene, she’d help. They were family… and Eddie too, but the part that grew in the hood and escaped, the feeling of freedom was still there. Of course, his big brother always had his back, when he wasn’t pounding on his front. Perry’s cracked his knuckles as he started to reverse.

  He needed to see him. Look the kid in the eye. As he moved forward he saw the captain walking slowly past, his eyes looking down to his cell not paying attention to what was going on.

  Knight was a climber, he wanted to get to the top. Police chief? Probably. Mayor? Maybe. He’d help a little, but wouldn’t stick his neck out for Perry. Though Perry could’ve crashed his whole party years ago.

  Knight’s eyes lifted and looked directly at Perry. Knight frowned and took a deep breath, Perry could see the nostrils puff out then in. His knuckles cracked as Knight walked over.

  He looked ready to bark, snap at Perry like Adeline did towards James. She was trying to tell him. Knight knocked on the closed window of his sedan.

  “Where are you going?”

  Adeline knew people, once with him almost… the second time this morning with the man who attacked her owner.

  Perry shook his head quick and smiled. “I’m headed home.” He yawned large enough to fit a softball in. “You know all of this… shit going on, it’s not good for my health. Charlene and Sadie went up north by her parents, so I’m going to go home and relax. Grab a few beers sit on my porch and think.” He knew it was too much chatter, too much talking.

  Knight stared at him for a moment, he knew it was a lie.

  “You do look like you need your sleep, go home. But don’t do anything else and make sure you aren’t talking to that thug anymore.”

  “Captain?” Perry asked.

  “This is me telling you, that’s a department issue phone… I have your call log…” Perry was making mistakes, “why’d he call you?”

 
“He said it was a cop that took Eddie.” Perry lied.

  “Huh.” Perry nodded. “Okay, now remember, we can trace YOUR phone, so it will tell us if you went anywhere but home.” Perry smiled.

  “Sure thing Capt, but it’s dying, you know these damn Chinese made pieces of crap. Die quicker than a mayfly.”

  “A what?”

  “Mayfly, don’t they live for a few hours or something?”

  “No idea,”

  ----

  He turned off his phone just as he made the left hand turn east and away from his house. If someone wanted to check it, they’d see he went toward his house before it died. On Layton Boulevard he stopped at a small phone shop, using cash he picked up a burner and kept heading toward Brew City.

  He checked his watch, still an hour before he had to meet Kieron. Perry kept the car at twenty-five creeping down St Paul. The overhead freeway rumbled, but down here, the street was empty.

  The small sign hang hung like a dive bar’s above the entrance a block away. The towering red brick building looked down with intimidation.

  Driving past he saw cherry picker idle on the small side street with a group of people and a van behind it. One looked like James. He parked across the street in front of a one story white building that looked empty. Perry slipped on a Packers hat and started to walk down the small side street. He could see the new Potawatomi hotel in the background.

  They came into view, it was James. The kid and another guy were picking up a crate and pushing it in a white cargo van.

  “Is that a coffin?” a man yelled coming from the other direction.

  “James,” a woman yelled from the dock door. Her outstretched arm pointing at Perry.

  “What’s going on here?” Perry asked looking at the three men, then the woman.

  James gave him a look first of amazement, then anger. Years in the army and police, he learned to tell the good guys from the bad. James pushed the crate all the way in.

  Perry took a few more steps, his eyes never leaving James. “I said, what are we doing here?” He pulled out his badge and held it in the air.

  “Officer, thank God you’re here,” James said, “this asshole, I mean Austin, has been stalking me,” he pointed toward the bulky man a few feet away.

  “Just came to see how my old friend’s doing,” Austin said. He put his hand on the side of the van.

  “I’m Renee, this is my business, just what the hell are you people doing on my property?” The woman wore a scowl, her arms crossed. He could see her as an Amazon warrior.

  “I’m Detective…” She dropped down to the ground level with ease, though she looked to be in her late forties.

  “I don’t give a damn, you all get out of here, you're trespassing.”

  “It’s a public street.” Austin said. Renee gave him a sharp look. The quiet guy in the back was about to close the rear door. Perry grabbed the edge of it.

  “Hold on a sec, I’m looking for my brother,” Perry said. He thought he could see a look from Renee towards James.

  “Who?” she said. The other guy, an older Mexican didn’t say much.

  “His name is Eddie, looks kind of like me, he owned the dog I brought in today, the one that snapped at you… like he knew you.” He looked directly into James’ eyes, something flickered in them.

  “Well this little prick probably did something to him,” Austin said.

  “We have no idea where your brother is.” Renee said.

  “This guy's a moron, ask anyone who ever met him,” James said thumbing towards Austin. He reached over to the van door that Perry had his hand on. “Let go,”

  “What’s in there?”

  “Shit,” the woman said, “a whole lot of dog poop,”

  “I wanna look,” Perry said, the crate did look like a coffin. There was no smell of death… or dog shit.

  “I don’t give a damn, do you have a warrant?”

  Perry gave her the hard look, it worked on most people. Intimidation turns people to stupid cowards.

  “It’s just dog shit. And this is still America.” She said stomping toward him. She grabbed the door next to James and slammed it. Perry felt the force of his fingers scraping a little as it was pried away from him.

  “If you two don’t let us get back to our rescue. We will be forced to call the police… or maybe I’ll call the mayor… you know he got his dog from here. We’re close.”

  “Sure you are.” Perry said not sure if he believed her.

  “He’ll get on you quick. And you,” she said looking at Austin, her eyes raged like Charlene when she was going to go off. “You are suspended from duty. Chief Davies is a friend and if I tell him you’re stalking James, you will lose your job.” Austin’s jaw seized.

  “Whatever, I’m out,” He said and walked away. The guy was tense, his broad shoulders were almost eating away his neck.

  “And you,” Renee said turning back to Perry. “You leave before I get your badge.” It was all or nothing, Perry thought. James had Eddie… but he need proof. He was a cop after all.

  “I know you have my brother,” he grabbed James’ shirt. He felt the warm breath and old cigarette smoke emanating from him. “And I want him back… now.”

  “Sorry,” James said looking at Renee. James reached up and put his hand on Perry’s. In an odd grip Perry felt pressure between the webbing of his thumb and forefinger. “But I have no idea where he is.” A pain shot in his fingers, his hand lost all strength and he let go.

  “We attacked you… killed your dog… E, Darnell and myself.” Perry said. “I know you have them.”

  “E and Skitter didn’t kill my dog.” James said. “You did, and if I were a vengeful man, I’d take it out on you not them.” Perry eyed James, his hands were clenched, his elbow snapped. A daily reminder of what he and his friends did to a kid just running his dog. Perry shook the image from his mind.

  “I’ll find him. And hurt whoever took him.” Perry said harshly.

  “Good luck,” James said with a wry smile as he closed the second door on the van. He tapped it twice and the van pulled away. “I know the feeling when someone you love is murdered.”

  Detective Perry couldn’t do anything, he walked back toward his car. He did need help from outside. Thirty minutes before he met Kieron and he knew there was one way to get Eddie back.

  Chapter 31

  Cindy put her ear to the door and knocked. Three soft strikes, a pause and a hard bang. She grinned. Footsteps came from around the hallway bend. She turned away from the sound, you, never know who you’d run into. Nobody came, the bottle of wine would’ve been a dead giveaway. Though the odds of it being someone who know either or both of them from work was far from probable.

  Marshall opened the door, he shot her a bare hint of recognition and he turned his back letting the door swing.

  “Hi!” Cindy said. She closed the door and followed him to the kitchen.

  “Hey,” he said with his back to her. “Didn’t know you were coming over.” His voice she thought was either sad or sleepy.

  “Well…,” Cindy swallowed, “I missed you and thought I’d drop by…” she said hoping her unannounced visit wouldn’t be too out of bounds. They planned everything. Planning was what kept them secret for months, the walks the late-night dinners, maybe part of the charm or the boredom.

  Kate was right, she needed to live a little. Spontaneity is the spice of life, at least that’s what her fridge magnet said.

  “Sure,” He said facing her. His eyes were red, but not sad… like he was on something. She passed the kitchenette to the little bar cart on the wall. The shiny tools of a party thrower or alcoholic looked up at her.

  “Is everything alright?” Cindy asked reaching passed the stir stick.

  “Perfect,” Marshall said solemnly. She grabbed the corkscrew that they bought on a weekend getaway to Door County, the Hamptons of the Midwest as she called it, and started to open it.

  She glanced at Marshall, he twisted his
neck, cracking it and muscled in. He grabbed it quickly, his fingers pinched hers between the bottle and the corkscrew.

  “Ow,” Cindy ripped her hand away and looked at him. It wasn’t his normal way, he never forced anything with her. “You’re drunk,” she blurted. The whiskey was on his breath as thick as a spring fog. It was barely seven.

  “So,” Marshall said but didn’t offer any more, his face wasn’t smiling, almost a sneer. He seemed to glance around, his fingers digging the screw deeper into the cork. As if he meant to hurt it.

  It popped, he pulled a long stem wine glass from the rack and began to pour her drink filling it almost to the rim.

  “That’s a heck of a pour!” She said looking at it, then him, “what’s wrong? Did I do something?”

  Marshall opened the freezer, grasping a single ice cube he walked to the counter and dropped it in a used highball glass with a rattling clink.

  “You didn’t do anything,” Marshall said, his voice though wasn’t so sure. He pulled a bottle from the bottom shelf, Bullitt, fitting for a cop she thought watching him. She felt the air blast through a vent. The small clear hairs on her arm stood, trying to get as far away her body as possible.

  “Can you turn it down, it’s freezing in here,” she purposely tried to sound bitchy. He needed to know she was still in charge. Marshall grunted and walked through the small dark hallway. Cindy walked to the small white cushioned chair and sat, she placed her phone on the wooden table she built from an old crate.

  “We’re gonna do brunch by my place tomorrow… with Kate and James.”

  “We? Are we finally coming out?” Marshall said from down the hall.

  “Yeah, we really should. You need to meet James.” She thought about the conversation with her brother, the things he said.

  A rattle came from beyond her drink, she saw his phone. She wasn’t nosey… but something got him in this mood, she needed to know. Cindy cranked her neck to see the text message from Perry. ‘Ask her!!’ Well, maybe it’s not the full coming out party.