The Carnival of Curiosities (Matt Drake Book 27)

by David Leadbeater

  Kinimaka shrugged. “I’m happy anywhere,” he said. “But one of these days I want to return to Hawaii.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Silk said. “Sugary beaches. Technicolor sunsets and active volcanoes. Paradise.”

  Kinimaka nodded his agreement. Trent cleared his throat to get them back on the subject. “You may recall that Madame Davic had a husband. His name was Davor.”

  Hayden’s brain clicked in instantly. “God yeah, I remember him well. That takes me back a bit. We were chasing down the bones of Odin. In fact, that was when most of the team first met. Davor owned an estate in Hawaii. We assaulted it to grab one of the pieces of Odin.”

  “Funny how everything’s intertwined isn’t it?” Silk said. “Our lives are one big story, and we have no control over where we’ll end up.”

  Hayden preferred not to see it that way. “So Davor was Madame Davic’s husband. Also, you three killed Blanka Davic, her son, when he attacked LA. Now I get why she’s so pissed at us all.”

  “Live by the sword...” Silk shrugged. “None of her family are angels.”

  “Yeah, but bad guys tend to ignore logic,” Kinimaka said. “It’s usually blinded by their dumb rage.”

  Trent kept the car crawling along the freeway, a sea of red taillights before him. “Interesting ties between ourselves and the SPEAR team. But that’s not why she’s here. Collins is investigating her, but has been called away on the Topanga case. We’re using our own contacts now. Madame Davic is up to something. Something big.”

  Hayden nodded resignedly. “I thought as much. No beer and pizza for me then.”

  “I’ll take you to a movie.” Radford grinned, raising his eyebrows. “Can’t promise to be able to stop what happens next though.”

  Kinimaka grunted. “Right here, bud. I’m right here.”

  “Ah, yes, I forget. You two are on, off, on, off. I guess you’re currently on.”

  “I’ll take a raincheck though,” Hayden told him with a grin, just to annoy Mano.

  “You say this Madame Davic is here for something big?” Kinimaka ignored her and turned the subject back to the reason they were all here.

  Trent nodded. “She’s looking to move in,” he said ominously. “And we’re the only ones aware and in a position to stop her.”

  Hayden sighed. Here we go again.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Trent dropped them off at their hotel and arranged to meet that evening.

  Hayden followed Kinimaka to the reception desk and then to the elevators. Once inside their room, they relaxed for a while in the welcome air-conditioned space and showered. They didn’t discuss the information Trent and the boys had revealed, preferring to let it digest and percolate. But as night fell, and unaccustomed to inactivity, they were eager to get to it.

  Trent was waiting outside a Mexican grill along Sunset Boulevard. The traffic was heavy, the sidewalks packed, the hotels, restaurants and shops lit in varying shades of neon. Trent led them inside to a table where Silk and Radford were staring at menus.

  “Their burritos are awesome,” Radford said by way of greeting. “But their garlic bread is even better.”

  After they’d ordered, Trent brought them both up to speed.

  “You guys know we have good contacts and we’re using them all. At this moment, across LA, there are a total of forty-eight task forces in operation. That’s a specialized group of men and women assigned to one particular job. Through them, particularly the ones dealing with organized crime involving the Russians, we’ve learned that Madame Davic is here to set up a series of nightclubs.”

  Kinimaka paused with his Pepsi halfway to his lips. “Say what? She doesn’t seem the disco fever type.”

  Hayden laid a hand on his arm. “I think maybe she has an ulterior motive, Mano.”

  Trent nodded. “Good guess. Money laundering or drugs with the nightclubs as a front. Something she can spread under cover, something she can disseminate quickly among the population.”

  “And she’s buying these clubs?” Hayden wondered.

  “Not exactly.” Radford paused as their starters arrived, delivered by a harassed-looking waitress. “Whoa, that food looks good. Chelsi, is it? Can you give me directions to your heart?”

  The waitress backed away with a smile, having heard it all before. Radford offered a huge plate of garlic bread around before continuing.

  “She’s strong-arming the current owners out. Using muscle. And you’d better believe that’s some muscle, ’cause several of those owners are connected. Mobbed up. It seems Madame Davic has a reputation... back home.”

  “Yeah, she has one here too,” Kinimaka said with a frown.

  “Whoever she is—and we’re still not entirely sure of her full provenance—she has a huge amount of clout. So far, she’s taken over six clubs without incident and has her toes in another four.”

  “Are any of these clubs on the task force watch list?” Hayden asked.

  “Yeah, two. But not the main one she’s operating out of.”

  Hayden made a face. “Shame.”

  “Not really,” Radford was smiling, “because it gives us an excuse.”

  “An excuse to do what?”

  “To hit the dancefloor, Miss Jaye. To sample a night out on the town. Our town. We’re going in.”

  “You’re telling me we’re going undercover to a disco?”

  “Well, not a disco these days. More like electronic club music venue, I guess. The best place to study the tiger is in its lair. Are you up for it?”

  “Well, yeah—”

  “I don’t dance,” Kinimaka said matter-of-factly.

  “He’s more a bowling ball than a Travolta,” Hayden admitted.

  “Dancing won’t be required,” Trent said. “Just bring your A-game. If Davic is trying to get a foothold in LA, this is the right time and place to stop her dead.”

  His face and tone told Hayden that he meant that literally.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Alicia liked the look of Clearwater, Florida. It sported a vast, white sandy beach for relaxing on, diverse local restaurants for reliable eating at, and tourist-filled noisy bars for getting shitfaced in. Or at least, on the surface it did. She’d only just arrived.

  “What the hell are you drinking?” she asked Dahl, coming up to his table.

  They were congregated around two large tables at an outside restaurant, staring at menus. Cam and Shaw were seated beside each other to the left, which left Dahl and Kenzie to the right. Alicia dumped herself in the middle.

  “Cocktail,” the Swede said. “Kind of a mix of bourbon, ginger—”

  “Dude, it has fucking umbrellas in it.”

  Dahl eyed his drink. “So what?”

  Alicia shook her head and ordered a double bourbon on ice from the waitress. She took a long look at their surroundings before turning to Cam and Shaw.

  “Well, it’s certainly not New Orleans.”

  Cam shuddered in memory. “I don’t want to go back there ever again.”

  “We got off lucky,” Alicia said.

  “You’re kidding? We...” Cam sat forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Buried someone. So that they’d rise again later... you know?”

  “They weren’t dead,” Alicia pointed out. “And bloody Marinette forced us to do that. Under duress. We had no choice. But I guarantee you, mate, that she had a whole host of other shit planned for us. She was gonna make us do all sorts. Thank God we put her down.”

  “Agreed.” Dahl held his cocktail glass up, umbrellas clinking. “Gives us a chance to get on with our lives.”

  “Get on?” Alicia repeated. “I’d call this a pause at best. A breather. We gotta get back to kicking ass.”

  “We will,” Kenzie said, sitting back and eyeing the bright blue sky through wraparound sunglasses. “Drake’s right, you know. You should stop giving the guy such a hard time.”

  Alicia frowned. “You offering me relationship advice now?”

  “Well,
someone needs to since you’re clearly messing this one up.”

  Alicia jumped to her feet, emotions churning. Kenzie rose more slowly. Alicia stalked around the table until just a few feet separated them. “Wanna run that by me again?”

  “It’s not forever.” Dahl tried to defuse the situation. “Just a short while longer. Drake’ll be here in a day or two. You and Whippet Boy can sort it all out then.”

  Kenzie neutralized it faster by sitting down. Cam and Shaw looked on miserably. Alicia growled and then returned to her seat to glare at Dahl. “Whippet Boy?”

  The Swede shrugged and grinned. “Isn’t whippetry the way of life north of the Watford Gap?”

  “Whippetry? I think you need to—”

  “Speaking of Marinette,” Cam interrupted. “Does everyone remember everything that happened?”

  “Graphically.” Shaw shook her head, making her tight ponytail bob across her shoulders. “We were slaves. I know I’m still new to the group, but seeing someone do that—and enjoy it—well it hurts my head just to imagine. Marinette was a monster.”

  “And got what she deserved,” Alicia said. “I remember it all, Cam, and really wish I didn’t. Sometimes oblivion is a good thing.” She stared into her empty glass. “Speaking of oblivion...”

  They chatted and ate and grew accustomed to their area of Clearwater. They walked when the sun went down and ventured out onto the beach when most of the tourists had vanished. Alicia enjoyed the thick white sand and the vast expanse of water to left and right, the incredible views on views, but soon they were headed back to their hotel rooms and another night of sleeping alone. Unless you were called Dahl or Kenzie of course. They made no pretense of the fact that they were together now, and why would they? There were no secret agendas in their team.

  Days passed. Nothing changed. Alicia was growing lethargic. She began to wish she’d gone with Hayden and Kinimaka, since they seemed to be involved in some kind of action; or, God forbid, even Mai. The Sprite was out of contact, but Bryant’s private security company was always in the thick of the action. Alicia envied the Japanese woman just a little.

  *

  On the third day Kenzie received a phone call.

  “We need your help,” Mai Kitano said. “Can you get to DC right away?”

  Kenzie, standing barefoot in the sand and watching a perfect sunset, looked surprised. “Me? Now? Why?”

  “I can’t say. But it is vital.”

  Alicia plucked Kenzie’s phone away as the Israeli weighed up Mai’s request. “Hey, Sprite, how’s it hanging? Do you need me too?”

  “Alicia? No, get off the phone. We need Kenzie.”

  “Who’s we?”

  “Bryant and I. Listen, I don’t have the time, or patience, to explain it to you. Is Kenzie there?”

  Alicia didn’t answer but passed the phone back to Kenzie. Everyone was having more fun than her these days, it seemed.

  “Of course I’ll come,” Kenzie said. “I’ll call you when I land at Dulles.”

  After Kenzie left, they moped around some more, visiting Hooters, Ron Jon’s and local produce sellers under a blazing hot sun. Another night passed peacefully and then, on the fourth day, Alicia found herself sitting next to Dahl in another outdoor drinking establishment.

  “Y’know,” she said, flicking dust off the knee of her jeans. “This hiding out isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. How are you guys doing for money?”

  “Plenty to spare,” Dahl said without thinking.

  “Good. Next round’s on you then. I’m going double Southern Comfort.”

  “Thought you’d had enough of that from Marinette.” Cam grinned.

  “Not even close to funny.” Alicia jabbed a playful elbow at him that doubled him over, gasping. Shaw slapped his back. Dahl waited for them to finish and place their order. When the Swede left the table to get the drinks, Cam recovered and spoke up.

  “I may have to leave you too,” he said reluctantly. “As much as I enjoy the company and feel at home here, I can’t ignore...” he tailed off.

  Alicia looked at him. “For the last few missions, you’ve been part of our family. I’m surprised. What’s changed, Cam?”

  “Remember when I told you I’d received a message on WhatsApp? The Carnival has ended. I got another last night, same message. Something’s really wrong back home.”

  “But didn’t you disown your family?” Alicia wasn’t one to mince words.

  “My parents. My brothers, yes. But my two sisters, no. I kind of feel an obligation to them...”

  Alicia somehow managed to hold her tongue. His sisters were con-artists, confidence tricksters. The only reason he felt anything for them was because he’d failed to protect the sister he did love—Ruby. “A long way to go in response to something incomprehensible,” she said. “Can’t you return the message or give them a call?”

  “The whole point of the emergency WhatsApp group is anonymity,” Cam said. “The bigger point of using it is... well... apocalypse now.”

  “And your return to Romania will avert that?” Alicia pushed gently. “From what you’ve told me a little family apocalypse might be a good thing.”

  “I know what you mean but... some of the men and organizations my family are associated with are atrocious. Utterly inhuman. They’re the type of people that don’t just kill for revenge—they abduct you and force upon you the worst life you could possibly imagine to get even.” Cam shook his head. “And they make sure you don’t die soon.”

  Alicia looked into the clear, blue sky that mirrored the ocean to her right. “And, alone, you’re gonna do what exactly, Camden?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s family, and that’s something I know you care about.”

  “Family doesn’t have to mean relations,” Alicia told him.

  Cam nodded. “It’s one of those situations where you have to try. Because if you don’t you might regret it for the rest of your life. You have to prove to yourself that you did everything you could.”

  The trouble was, he made sense. Alicia agreed with him. The kid was right. There was a certain hurdle that had to be passed with relatives, a place where you could say I did all that I could. She shouldn’t try to get in the way of that.

  “I’ll be sad to see you go,” she said.

  Dahl choked into his beer. It was soft and it was subtle, but Alicia glanced at him. The Swede’s gaze was fixed on a passing man.

  “Torsty?”

  Dahl stared, transfixed. Alicia saw a tall, sandy-haired individual with big shoulders and a slow gait, wearing a Florida T-shirt, three-quarter shorts with lots of pockets, and dirty sneakers.

  “Never see you gawp after a man before, Torsty,” she said. “I suppose that’s what shagging Kenzie does to you.”

  “No... no...” Dahl gasped. “Not again. I know that guy. I fucking know him. Do not let him out of your sight.”

  The Swede sprang to his feet, muscles coiled and face set as if he was fighting for his life. Alicia didn’t need to think twice. She was instantly by his side.

  “Who is he?” Shaw asked.

  “He’s death,” Dahl breathed. “Pure death.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Dahl didn’t ask for help, just moved off to follow the unknown man. Alicia gave him space, following a little to the left. Cam and Shaw moved right. The sidewalk stretched ahead, bleached by the sun, the traffic-laden road to their right. Tourists and locals separated them and their quarry, the tourists taking photographs, the locals discussing the tourists and shoppers carrying bags in between. Dahl was a man on a mission, looking as if he might very well accost the man right there, right then, until Alicia drifted over to him.

  “Hey, cool it. We should find out where he’s going.”

  The Swede looked anxious. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. But Donovan... simply can’t be allowed to get away.”

  “I get it. Who is he?” Alicia leaned in close to Dahl, trying to make it look natural.

  “A jack of all trades
. He’s a fixer, a negotiator, an expeditor. An introducer, a repairer. Basically, he facilitates the environment in which bad guys can do their work. There’s nothing Donovan doesn’t have his hand in.”

  Alicia got the general idea. “Bit of a surprise you seeing him here then?”

  “You don’t know the half,” Dahl said worriedly. “It happened to me once before when I was on holiday with my family. I saw someone I remembered at the airport. Entire holiday went to hell.”

  Alicia remembered him recounting the tale of his crazy stay in Barbados. Ahead, Donovan drifted through the crowd, following a seemingly aimless path with no real purpose.

  “Wait,” Dahl said. “He’s slowing.”

  Alicia stopped at a shop window, staring at rows of T-shirts and shorts, her vision momentarily blocked as the front door opened to emit a man and woman. Dahl pretended to be waiting to jaywalk over the road whilst Cam and Shaw continued past. Donovan sat himself down at an outdoor bar and ordered a drink from a quick-moving waitress. Alicia took a look around, smelling danger.

  Dahl had said this Donovan was a facilitator. Far from vacationing in Florida right now, might he actually be facilitating?

  They were exposed, but Alicia saw nothing untoward. Dahl’s attention was focused upon Donovan. Both Cam and Shaw were still green enough not to be scrutinizing their surroundings. Alicia tried to study everything, from the passing people and cars to the high-level windows across the street. She looked behind and ahead. Was Donovan working right now?

  “Dahl.” She caught up to the Swede. “We have to be careful. We’re supposed to be in hiding. Who knows if Donovan isn’t currently working?”

  “What? You mean... us?”

  “Yeah, dickhead, what do you think I mean?”

  “Oh... shit...” Now Dahl was monitoring everything, eyes flicking left and right at a rate of knots.

  “See how exposed we are?”

  Dahl looked back at Donovan just as Donovan turned to him. There was a grin on the man’s face and a slant to his eye that said, “gotcha.” To top that off the sandy-haired man raised a hand in the shape of a gun and pulled the trigger.