by Carolina Mac
Fifteen minutes passed before a knock came on the door. Grace looked out the front window, saw the cruiser and opened the door. She welcomed a tall, tanned deputy wearing a beige uniform.
“Deputy Kevin Kuchma, ma’am.” He touched his hat and Grace motioned for him to sit at the kitchen table. She poured him a mug of coffee and he sipped it while he listened to her story. He asked a few questions, didn’t make any notes, then recorded her statement as well as Mike’s.
“We’ve had disturbance calls involving Mr. Cowan in the past, but no one was willing to press charges against him.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” said Grace. “Mike said he’s a gang leader and a lot of his followers have moved into the park.”
The deputy raised an eyebrow. “That a fact, or just a guess?”
“Oh, I think it’s a fact all right,” said Mike. “They call themselves the Iron Jackals. You can check it out.”
Deputy Kuchma wrote the name down in his notebook. “Any reason why they’d want to be living all cozied up in this little park? Notice anything going on?”
“Sid has a lot of traffic in and out of his place,” said Grace. I wasn’t paying much attention before, but last night there were quite a few visitors.”
“Oh, yeah? How long did the visits last, ma’am? Did you notice?”
“I wasn’t watching on purpose, but any that I saw, not long. Ten—fifteen minutes. Then the visitor would leave. Mostly pickups and SUV’s. A couple of Harleys.”
“If you see any traffic tonight and it wasn’t an inconvenience to yourself, could you get me a tag or two?”
“I could try,” said Grace. “I’m not adverse to helping you.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Appreciate it.” Deputy Kuchma stood up. “Better get along. We’re taking Mr. Cowan in for questioning. My partner’s sitting with him in the squad.”
“Maybe that will smarten him up.” Mike stood up to leave with the deputy. “Thanks for the coffee, dear. Lock your door after we leave.”
Grace shivered when the deputy left. There was something about him that was a little off.
Now I’m getting creepy vibes off the cops? What’s wrong with you, Grace?
ROB RUMBLED SOUTH on route two eighty-one. He hoped to be in San Antonio by late afternoon, in time to check out Grace’s last address. He whipped past the Marble Falls sign, noticed the gas gauge edging towards empty again, and took the off-ramp.
He pulled into a truck stop and filled the tank, then moved the bike away from the pumps to a parking slot and searched out the restaurant. The booths were full of truckers and the noise level was over the top. Country music blaring, truckers hollering to each other and busboys on the run, clattering dishes as they cleared tables. Rob grabbed a stool at the counter, saw the specials on the blackboard overhead but couldn’t figure them out. He ordered the soup of the day—beef barley—along with a sandwich. Chicken salad on whole wheat.
Service was quick, and the food was good. After paying his check and using the facilities he checked in with Jerry. “I should be at her old address in a couple of hours.”
“Fantastic. I tried to get hold of you. Left a message. Did you get it?”
“Nope. Sorry, I didn’t check.”
“Grace left a number. I’m so fuckin happy. Her phone charger is broken, she’s a long way from the city and she had to buy a burner.”
“That’s great.” Rob’s heart pounded in his chest, knowing that Grace was okay and not far away. “Did she tell you where she was?”
“Nope. She didn’t give any details. I tried calling her back, but she didn’t answer.”
“I’ll try her before I leave here. Thanks, man.” Rob went to the messages, figured out how to get them and listened to the number. He memorized it and punched it into his phone. It rang until it went to message. “Grace, it’s me, Rob. I’m in Texas and I’m trying to find you. Call me at this number. I love you.”
Happier than he’d been in years, Rob whistled as he strode out to the parking lot. He stopped dead when he saw the little knot of shaved heads clustered around his bike.
Four of them. Can I do it? I have to, I’m so close to Grace.
He wasted no time thinking about it. Just walked towards them, hand on his blade, figuring which one he’d take out first. Rob had never seen these guys before. They were affiliates. Frobisher was calling in favors.
The muscled-up guy in the gray tank laughed and pointed when he saw Rob coming. “Here’s Frobisher’s little buddy. Let’s do what we came here to do.”
Two of the guys grabbed Rob, held his arms while a third punched him in the gut. The leader stood back and laughed. Rob struggled, trying to get to his knife, but he couldn’t reach it. They had him in a strangle hold.
I’m toast. These assholes are gonna kill me in broad daylight.
“Let him go, scumbags.”
Rob heard a voice he recognized. A female voice he thought he was well rid of.
“Back away. Lay flat on the pavement with your hands behind your heads.”
The big, bald leader laughed. “What have we got here? A little girl cop with a big gun? You’re a fuckin joke, sweetheart.”
Bang.
Rob turned his head to see the big guy drop. He didn’t even draw his weapon and Darlene shot him in the fuckin heart.
Jesus, girl. No wonder you’re suspended.
Sirens sounded in the distance as Darlene hollered. “Now, you three on the pavement or I’ll shoot your asses off.”
The Aryans released Rob and laid on their bellies on the pavement, their hands behind their heads. Rob jumped up, color on his face, heat in his neck and his eyes narrowed to slits. He jabbed a finger in her face and hissed, “I told you to stay out of my way.”
She grinned as she waved her Glock at her prisoners. “Like you would have come out of this little party on top. You owe me, Rob. And I aim to collect.”
“What do you want, Darlene?”
“Let me help you find your wife. That’s what I want.”
Why? I don’t want you helping me.
Rob shook his head. “Don’t know what your game is, Red, but I’ll wait for you at the next rest area. You’ll be a while cleaning up this mess.”
“Your mess, Rob, just like the last one I cleaned up in the men’s room. Your mess. Remember that.”
Rob jumped on his bike and was gone before the squads pulled into the parking lot.
THE LANDSCAPE CHANGED as Rob rode south towards Johnson City. He’d heard of Texas hill country, but he’d never seen it. Lots of trees and fields of blue flowers. The sign came up for a rest area and he pulled in to wait for Darlene.
What in hell was he gonna do with her tagging along behind him? Fuckin pain in the ass, that’s what she was. He could take care of himself. Always had. Didn’t need a baby sitter. And sure as hell not a red-headed cop baby sitter.
He used the facilities, bought a bottle of water and sat on his bike to call Grace. It rang and rang and went to message again. He left another message, then rechecked the number, called again and gave up. His battery was low. Maybe these hills weren’t helping either. He drained his water bottle, walked to the trash bin and back to his bike.
How long do I have to wait? Shit.
He lit up a smoke and mumbled to himself. “I’m not waiting forever. When this smoke is gone, so am I.”
Should have got Red’s cell number.
Rob rooted around in his saddle bag, found the invoice for the gun and called the store. “Hey, Tommy, this is Rob—you sold me a gun and a knife, remember?”
“Yeah, sure I remember, Rob. What can I do for you?”
“This probably sounds like a weird favor, but I need your sister’s cell number.”
Tommy chuckled. “Hold on, it’s in my phone. I’ll read it to you. She getting under your skin?”
“Something like that.” Tom read the number and Rob wrote it on his cigarette pack. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”
Tommy was still lau
ghing when Rob ended the call.
Rob stared at his phone for a minute, then sucked it up. “Here goes.” He punched in the number and Darlene answered on the second ring. “Deputy Steele.”
“Hey, Deputy Steele, I’m going to San Antonio. Meet me at this address.” Rob recited Grace’s last address from memory.
“Thanks, Rob. I’m tied up here at the precinct and I didn’t have your number. I’ll catch up.”
“You do that.”
If you have to.
ROB WAS LOST for an hour in the maze of highways cutting through San Antonio before he sucked it up and asked for directions. Twice. And he finally found his way to Grace’s former address.
The new occupants referred him to the previous owner who lived next door. Rob crossed the lawn between the two bungalows and knocked. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but I wonder if you could tell me where Grace Chandler moved to when she left here?”
“She moved out of town,” said the old guy. “Damn shame about Lonnie. Did you know him?”
Rob nodded. “Uh huh. I knew him. Too bad.”
“Nice guy. Always paid the rent on time.” He sighed, then added, “I didn’t want to sell the place, but I had to. I offered it to Grace but she turned it down. She wanted to move out of the city. She thought it would be better for Joey.”
“Did she leave an address?”
“Yep, she did. Wanted me to drive up there into hill country and visit her.” He grinned. “We had a lot of good talks, Grace and I. She was a writer, you know. Wrote a lot of good mysteries. I read them all.”
I’m gonna read them all too. One day.
Rob smiled. “Could you tell me how to find her?”
“Sure, you take route eighty-seven up to Dry Springs and then…” He scratched his gray head. “It’s a trailer park—small one—near there. I forget the name of the road it’s on.”
“You didn’t write the address down?”
“Figured I’d remember how to get there.” He chuckled. “Guess I didn’t.”
“Dry Springs. I’ll find it. Thanks a lot, sir.”
“No problem, son. Say hi for me when you see her.”
“I will. For sure, I will.”
It was full dark after Rob talked to the landlord. If it hadn’t been for the Brand, he would have had time to find Grace today. Fuckin assholes. Now he wouldn’t see her and Joey until tomorrow.
He drove back to the interstate, pulled into the Super Eight and checked in. Tired and sweaty from the heat, he stripped down and walked straight into the shower. When he came out of the bathroom naked and crossed the room to turn the air higher, his phone signaled a missed call. Darlene.
He called her back. “Super Eight near the route eighty-seven exchange. Get a room and we’ll talk in the morning.”
“I’m not tired. I want to talk now.”
“Too fuckin bad what you want. I need to sleep.” He pressed end and turned out the light.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ROB WOKE TO pounding on his door. “What the hell time is it?” He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and checked.
Six-thirty in the fuckin morning. Are you kidding me?
“Better not be you, Darlene Steele, or I’m gonna fuckin kill you dead,” he shouted, “absolutely and completely dead.”
Thunk. “Open the door, asshole.” Thunk.
Fuck, she’s kicking the goddam door.
With teeth clenched, Rob threw the covers back, jumped out of bed, crossed the room in three strides and jerked the door wide open, forgetting he was naked.
Darlene charged past him shouting, “Get some fucking clothes on, pervert.” Her face was flushed as she eyed his tight muscled body up and down.
“Enjoying the view?” Rob grabbed his clothes off the chair and headed into the bathroom. “Go get me some coffee,” he hollered through the bathroom door.
“Fuck yourself up the ass,” she hollered back.
Rob grinned as he zipped up his jeans and opened the bathroom door. He strode across the room, sat on the side of the bed and tugged his boots on. “This early in the morning, you didn’t think to bring coffee?”
“Never thought of it.” Darlene was slouched down in a chair by the window checking her gun.
“There’s a comp breakfast near the lobby. Let’s go get coffee and a bagel.”
“I want answers.” Darlene opened the door and stomped out ahead of him.
Rob studied her chunky ass and shook his head. “What’s the question?” He lit up a smoke and slowed down his stride.
Darlene walked on ahead. “What did you find out from the old address? She called over her shoulder.”
“A new address.”
“How can I help you if you don’t tell me anything?”
“Don’t want you to help me. Go home.”
She stopped dead in front of him, turned around and took a stance. “You didn’t even thank me for helping you yesterday. You were dead fucking meat and you know it.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“What did you do to piss off those Aryan motherfuckers?”
Rob shrugged. “Nothing I’m discussing with you.”
“It’s something you did to one of them inside, and it must have been super goddam bad for them to chase you all over the fuckin country—two countries, in fact. Didn’t take a genius to figure that out.”
“Well you ain’t one of those. You know nothing, Deputy.”
“Two more days and I’m back on regular duty.”
Rob opened the front door and they crossed the lobby to the breakfast room. Crowded with people, most of the tables were occupied. Rob filled a cardboard cup with coffee and added cream while Darlene bullied her way through hungry women and children and secured a table in the corner. When Rob sat down, she went for coffee. Darlene came back with a Styrofoam plate heaped with eggs and sausages.
Rob eyed the food and asked, “Thought you had two weeks of forced vacay?”
“Yeah, well, my collars yesterday helped me a lot.” She picked up a plastic fork and waved it in Rob’s face. “When I delivered members of the Brand, their pockets filled with meth, and outstanding warrants on every one of them, my boss softened a bit and chopped a week off.”
“You didn’t thank me,” said Rob.
“It wasn’t a gift. I had to work for it.”
“Like hell you did. I got the shit beat out of me, so you could go back to being a ball-busting cop.” He pointed to the swelling and the black and blue bruises on the side of his face.
Between bites, she said, “Okay, thanks.”
“Fuck you.” Rob stood up. “I’m toasting a bagel.”
GRACE DIDN’T SLEEP well, even though Ted was by her side, and the doors were locked, front and back. She’d checked them twice. She kept hearing noises thinking Sid was forcing his way in.
Ted would bark if Sid was sneaking around.
Deputy Kuchma didn’t think Sid would make bail until this morning, so she should have been more relaxed, but she wasn’t. Something about Kuchma didn’t sit right with her. He said the right things, but he was too relaxed, too slick, too… something.
She sat at the table with her first cup of coffee and wondered if it was too early to call Jerry. She searched her purse for her phone and couldn’t find it. Maybe she’d left it in the truck. I’ll get it after I get dressed.
Once Joey was finished his breakfast, Grace tried to take his mind off the events of the previous day. He’d been timid and withdrawn since that last morning with Lon and she was concerned. Now, Sid had scared him and he’d been almost silent ever since.
“Want to go find somebody to play with, honey?”
“Are there kids here, Mommy?”
“I don’t know. Let’s take a walk and see if we can find any. Want to?”
He nodded his little head. His hair was dark like Lon’s and his brown eyes were identical. “You better wear your ball cap. The sun is hot.” She put it on his head and picked up Ted’s leash. “Come on, s
ugar pop.” She snapped the leash onto Ted’s collar.
“Can I hold Ted, Mommy?”
“Uh huh, for a little bit. If he doesn’t pull too much.”
They walked to the other end of the gravel road looking at all the trailers and wondering who lived inside. Most looked the same. White siding with different colored trim. Some with decks or porches added, and some without. With so few spots taken in this park, everyone had a double lot. Lots of space between each unit. Most of the trailers had a Harley out front. Some bikes were chained to the porch or to a tree.
Did they think someone would steal their bike from in front of their trailer? Guess they did.
The road turned when they neared the woods and the second trailer on this street had a swing set out front. A little girl played in a sand box near the trailer while a young woman sat in a lounge chair watching her. Grace walked up the driveway and introduced herself.
“Hi, I’m Grace. I moved in a couple weeks ago and Joey was looking for somebody to play with. I haven’t seen many kids in the park.”
The girl shook her head. She was young, not more than a teenager, long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. The shorts and halter top she wore did nothing to hide the bruises on her arms and legs. “No kids. Only bikers. A couple are married, but no kids.” She smiled as she pointed to her daughter, “This here is Merrilee, my baby.”
“She’s beautiful,” said Grace.
“I’m Kiley.” She got off her chair and took Joey’s hand. Do you want to play in the sand with Merri?”
He nodded and Kiley walked him over to the sandbox.
“I’ll get us a drink,” said Kiley. “Hot as hell out here, but I don’t let Merri play out by herself.”
Grace nodded and moved a folding aluminum chair into the shade.
Kiley returned with glasses of lemonade with lots of ice and seemed happy to have someone to talk to. “We should take the kids down to the river. Be a good day for it,” she said. “They could cool off a bit.”
“I’ve never seen the river.” Grace sipped her iced tea and crunched a piece of ice.
Kiley hooked a thumb over her tanned shoulder. “It’s out back in the woods. Not too far. She looked at Ted sprawled under the tree. “Dog might go for a swim.”