The Complete Matt Jacob Series

by Klein, Zachary;

  “You’re scared to have anyone for a partner,” she sneered.

  Chagrin crossed Biancho’s face when he understood Alexis’s sexual innuendo.

  “Why the venom? I thought we were friends,”

  “Friends don’t spy on me,” Alexis retorted.

  I let her attitude feed my hound. “My friends don’t lead me around in circles.” Lou popped into my head. “And that’s the least of it.”

  “You really don’t have any idea about what’s been going on, do you Jacob?” Biancho said.

  I smiled grimly, “Just one, Chief. You and Alexis are trying to drive Lauren from the Hacienda. The house is worth serious silver and you’ve been trying real hard to stuff it in your piggy-banks. Condos with an ocean view? ‘If you lived here you’d be home now’ signs?” I chuckled. “Here’s the rub, you almost killed my father-in-law.”

  Biancho ground his teeth and Alexis choked back a burst of angry laughter. “Talk to him? You actually thought he knew something. Teddy, you shmuck, you’re the fucking Police Chief. Send him home!”

  “Nice try, Al.” I plowed forward. “Did you pick me up at the party to get me out of the house? I made for a great alibi while your honey did the work.”

  Biancho moved to the other armchair and sank down on the seat, tension escaping from his taut, wiry body. “Clifford said you thought I was dirty.”

  “Pillow talk Chief, or do you and Washington have a hotline? You shoot up the Hacienda then damn near kill my father-in-law with a phony furnace accident. I call that dirty. What do you call it, off-duty fun?”

  “I didn’t do any drive-by.” Biancho sat back in his chair shaking his head. “And there’s nothing to your suspicions about the furnace.”

  “Why are you still talking, Teddy?” Alexis asked, eyes blazing. “You don’t have to say a damn thing!”

  Biancho shook the tired from his face with a visible show of resolve. “He’s going to find out about the shooting sooner or later. You’re going to tell him now.”

  Alexis protested but Biancho cut her off with a sharp demand. “No more lies! I’ve covered for you more times than I care to remember and I’m through.

  His anguished words hung in the air like a coyote cry on the Discovery Channel. Seems Biancho was still head over heels for Alexis Brown.

  “Talk to him, goddammit,” Biancho whispered, “Stop fucking around.”

  “Where should I begin, Teddy?” Her attitude was a mix of resentment and compliance.

  “Start with Silverstein.”

  “Teddy!” she groaned.

  “Don’t ‘Teddy’ me!” Biancho wasn’t gonna brook much shit.

  “Maury Silverstein bailed me out when my business was going belly up,” Alexis said in a resigned monotone, her aggression on hold. “When the housing market crashed his cash kept the agency alive.”

  “Dirty money?” I asked.

  “What money isn’t?” she laughed sarcastically. “Maury is connected, if that’s what you mean.”

  “It sounds worse than it is, Jacob. There’s been no laundering.” Biancho didn’t realize his interruption was an unconscious protect.

  “Clifford said you’re smart and stubborn,” he continued, buying time. “He never said anything about imagination.”

  “My imagination was right about Silverstein. Now, are you going to talk, or is she?” One thing to give him time to shuck, another to listen to his jive.

  “Go on, Al,” Biancho said.

  “There’s nothing more to say,” Alexis said with a sudden spike of temper. “Once Maury becomes a partner, he stays a partner. I asked him for a favor, okay? I knew he could hire someone to shoot the house door safely. I wanted to be absolutely certain no one would get hurt.”

  “It wasn’t you?” I looked at Biancho who just shook his head. I turned back to Alexis. “So you convinced Maury to pull the drive-by.”

  “You don’t convince Maury to do anything. You pay him. It cost me another piece of the business.”

  “You must really want the Hacienda, Alexis.”

  She didn’t respond.

  “And you?” I asked Biancho. “Just along to lend official sanction? You knew the truth and fed everyone that gang bullshit.”

  “I don’t talk before I know what’s happening. We’re different that way. I thought it was done by a professional, or at least someone with experience. The bullet holes had no incline and there was no sign of rubber on the road, no report of tire squeals, so the car was probably moving when the shots were fired. Too clean for boozed up teenagers.”

  Biancho glanced at me, shook his head, and continued. “I thought you had it figured, but all you asked about were the windows.”

  I shrugged, “Something wasn’t right, I just didn’t know what it was.”

  “Don’t you have any technical training?”

  “The door was gone before I got a good look. Anyway, we’re not talking about me.”

  “Yeah, well, we are,” he said. “When you told me about Alexis’s interest in the Hacienda everything fell into place. I’ve known Maury a long, long time.”

  Biancho sighed an old man’s sigh. Silverstein was an argument he had lost more than once. “I originally thought the drive-by was a message to Alexis,” he said bitterly, looking at her. “I thought she owed Silverstein more money, couldn’t pay, so he left a calling card. I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone about that.”

  “Business is fine,” Alexis shrugged, her mood still swinging. “And you’re an idiot to sit here and tell this man anything.”

  Her arrogance was returning and I didn’t want to give it room to grow. “Idiots stick together.”

  “Don’t get carried away, Jacob,” Biancho warned.

  “Well, I hope you like your new friend, Teddy, because you’ve lost an old one,” Alexis said.

  It didn’t take a weatherman to see the rain on his parade. “Straighten out your personal life later. I’m here to find out why my father-in-law is in a hospital. And what I’m hearing is that Al paid Maury to blow the door away. You thought it was a love letter to your lady, but it was only Al’s way to crowbar the house from her mother.”

  I paused and looked at the two of them. “That’s Round One. Round Two takes place after Lauren still refuses to sell. So you poison them out.”

  “That was an accident!” they said at the same time.

  Their spontaneous response shook me. “Sure. And Clifford tripped over me on his way to work.”

  “What do you mean?” Biancho asked.

  “You didn’t have Clifford beat on me because you’re a Boy Scout.”

  The Chief shook his head. “How many times do I have to tell you that I asked him to talk to you. You may not believe this, but I wasn’t happy about covering for her.”

  I looked at Alexis who was leaning back on the couch, a disdainful expression on her face. “The truth comes out,” she said.

  “Knock it off,” Biancho replied. “I’ve spent a lifetime carrying your books.”

  “You always were an ass, Teddy. Back door Biancho.” A harsh look crept into her eyes. Something was starting to eat at her insides.

  “No, Alexis,” Biancho said with a sad smile. “You like to pretend it’s all about sex. You know better, you’ve always known better.”

  It was tempting to eavesdrop on their personal life but turned the conversation back. “Both of you want me to believe the furnace was an accident?”

  “It was an accident,” Alexis snapped.

  She sounded disappointed. The drive-by cost another piece of her business, the ‘accident’ only cost Lou his health. I felt like smacking her, but kept a heavy hold on my temper and tried to punch through their denial. “You’ll admit to the drive-by but won’t admit to the wire since Lou almost died.”

  “I wondered about the furnace too,” Biancho said, “but Silverstein convinced me he had nothing to do with it.”

  “You bastard,” Alexis couldn’t keep her disappointment from slipping
through. “You actually thought I’d do something to hurt them.”

  “I didn’t know what to think, Al,” Biancho said. “I knew Maury was behind the drive-by. I assumed he had something to do with the furnace. It was impossible not to link the two.”

  “Still is,” I said stubbornly despite inklings of doubt.

  “No it isn’t!” Alexis swung her head in my direction. “Damn right I want the Hacienda, enough to hand over another piece of my independence, but that’s different than letting my mother or Lou get hurt. I feel badly about what happened to him. It’s not his fault my mother let the place turn to crap!”

  By the time she finished, she was wiping her angry eyes. Worse, my goddamn shit-detector wasn’t ringing.

  “And Silverstein confirms all this?” I asked.

  “He said if he were going to kill someone it would have cost Alexis the entire agency,” Biancho grimaced. “And I believe it. Anyway, he has no reason to lie. Maury knows enough to understand I wouldn’t let anything happen to any of the Rowes or Browns.”

  Everyone was finally on the same damn page and it didn’t make for a good read. Biancho believed Alexis and Silverstein; I believed Biancho. Only now I’d run out of suspects.

  “Even if I buy this, there are still too many questions,” I pressed, scratching to hold on in the face of case interruptus. “Like toxic fumes.”

  Alexis shook her head. “I already told you, Matt. There are worse disasters lurking in the Hacienda. The bitch won’t spend a dime.”

  I wanted to jump her nerves. Burrow under Biancho’s skin as well. Even if I accepted the furnace “accident,” I still believed Lauren was being followed. Believed it enough to dig deeper. “Even a ‘safe’ drive-by is a helluva stunt to run your mother out of the house. What’s that about?”

  “Daddy’s girl,” Biancho muttered.

  “You son-of-a-bitch!” Alexis snarled. He’d struck a nerve. She turned her back on me, trying—but failing—to regain her composure. “Since when have you been on top?” she challenged the Chief.

  “I’m through being bottom dog, Alexis. No more evasions, no more lies, no more unanswered questions. Jacob may not need to know why you did what you did, but he ought to. The man treats his own better than we treat ours.”

  “Do you act like a big shot with Bunny, too?” Alexis smiled in my direction, but there was a tick in her cheek and her pupils were dilating. Biancho was calling her on something she didn’t want to touch.

  “Her name is Barbara, but I think of her as Princess Bunny. Teddy had to marry a prom queen.” Alexis stared at me but her words were whip-cracks aimed at Biancho. “So fucking classic. The poor outsider returns home in triumph. Our town’s brand new cop with his own redheaded bimbo. Just had to prove he was better than everybody who ever looked down on him. You forced your way to Chief because a Police Chief can push people around with a tin badge. Nobody who grew up with you believes any of your crap about making your hometown safe.”

  Alexis kept her gleaming eyes on me while she continued to slap Biancho. “You still feel like a great big nothing, but you think I’m the only one who knows it.”

  Alexis waved her hand encompassing both me and the Chief. “Two ass-licking ball-less wonders. If either of you had the guts to be honest, you’d spend your nights strapped up in a leather bar.” Alexis’s outstretched arm was shaking.

  Biancho and I avoided each other’s eyes while I blasted back. “The Chief called it ‘Daddy love.’ I call it ‘hate.’ Which do you think, Alexis? Or are you afraid to really look at yourself?”

  She rose to her feet and I stood to meet her head-on.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Look at what gets you off, sweetheart. Shows what you think of men, doesn’t it? Last I checked your Daddy had a dick.

  “See, I don’t buy this ‘doing it for Dad’ crap,” I continued. “You don’t give a shit about anyone. Either you want the Hacienda for yourself, or you’ve got some fucking john waiting to be fleeced.”

  The words clipped across her pale face. My attack pushed her deeper into herself and she answered as if speaking to a large audience from the rear of a dark stage. “I don’t believe how stupid you are. You make me sound like my mother, but I’m not her. I did what I did for my father. She’s fucked him over their entire life.

  “I’m not going to let him watch Lauren and Lou play house in the Hacienda.” Alexis moved upstage even as she shakily grabbed the back of her chair. “I can’t stand what their relationship does to him.”

  “Does to him?” I shrugged. “He been out of your mother’s world for decades. “Get real! Your father’s life has very little to do with Lauren or the Hacienda. And certainly not Lou.”

  “Annie means less to Dad than Princess Bunny means to Teddy here,” Alexis spat. “Lauren has his heart. Always will. It doesn’t matter whether they’re together or not.” Her voice zeroed in on shrill.

  I waved off Biancho’s interruption before he could open his mouth. “So tell me about it,” I invited. “Tell me why you tried to poison them out of the house.”

  “The furnace was a fucking accident. What isn’t an accident is what’s happening to my father. He doesn’t sleep, barely eats, spends enormous amounts of time with Mom’s mother. I’m really worried about him, don’t you understand? If Lauren’s romance lasts, the least he deserves is the one place he truly thinks of as home.”

  “Anne might have something to say about what’s home and what isn’t,” I jabbed, but my sense of foreboding was beginning to grow.

  “For Christ sake, back off! Don’t you see how upset she is?” Biancho snapped. He led Alexis to her seat, and gently helped her down. Alexis’s heart did belong to Daddy.

  “Damn right, I’m upset. His fucking father-in-law is moving in!”

  Biancho placed his hand on her shoulder and began to lightly squeeze. Maybe he still thought there was a chance to salvage. Or maybe he just had to play out his role.

  But I had to keep probing. Paul and Lauren’s relationship was back on Red Alert. “Okay, Alexis, I got it. Daddy’s having trouble dealing with Lauren and Lou so you want to make sure he gets the Hacienda.”

  “He’s the only one who puts any effort into the place. Why should Lou prance in and reap the rewards? If Dad can’t have what he really wants, I’ll make sure he gets something.”

  “And what is it he really wants, Alexis?”

  “His wife. His wife!”

  “His ex-wife. And your grandmother? How does she fit into this?”

  “Until I understood what Lauren did to him, Vivian was the only person who did. She knows what my mother means to him.”

  “You keep talking in generalities, Alexis.”

  “What are you after, Jacob?” Biancho protested. “Either you believe her about the wire or you don’t. I can’t see forcing her to talk about the family.”

  “It’s our family, Chief. Lauren and Lou are getting married as soon as her divorce is final. I want to know what I’m getting.”

  “Are you sure?” Alexis asked wild-eyed.

  I nodded.

  Her face seemed to shatter. “You want to know what you’re getting? Someone who turned her children against their father. Someone who blames my father for Stephen’s homosexuality and Ian’s self-destructive behavior. If that’s not enough go ask Lauren! She’ll be happy to tell you what you’re getting!”

  Time to reel her in. “So you want your dad to have a fair shake and you figure the Hacienda is it. Does he agree with you?”

  “He doesn’t know anything about any of this.”

  I glanced at Biancho who had returned to his seat. “I don’t know what Brown thinks,” he shrugged.

  “Enough already,” Alexis complained wearily. “You’ve solved all your little mysteries.”

  I didn’t know what I’d solved. “It’s difficult to believe your father has nothing to do with your scheming, Alexis. He’s the one to score.” Julie’s words rang in my ears: “Che
rchez le cash.”

  Her fatigue flared into instant anger. “My father wouldn’t lift a finger to drive Lauren out. He’s somebody who keeps everything inside. He sometimes does stupid things but...”

  “What stupid things?

  She was too deep into her rap to hesitate. “Annie. He didn’t have to live with that bitch. But he felt bad about what happened with Jim.”

  “Jim?”

  “Her husband.”

  “Aren’t we stretching here, Jacob?” Biancho snorted. “You’re not joining that family.”

  “No, Teddy,” Alexis shook off his intervention. “I want him to know the kind of person Dad is. It was Lauren’s affair with Jim Heywood that ruined both marriages. Something else you can ask her about.”

  I’d managed to outstay my comfort zone. Alexis had kicked open a door I wanted shut. “Your dad’s living with Annie because he wants revenge for Lauren’s affair with her husband?”

  I felt the revulsion rise in my throat. Lauren and her “overlapped family” were the incarnation of my worst nightmares. If I didn’t bring this scene to a quick close, my personal phobias would shift into overdrive, disintegrating the fragile accommodations I’d made for Lou and Lauren, for me and Boots. Whatever small corner I’d been able to turn was suddenly turning back; it was time to find my way out the door.

  But not before one last shot at the Police Chief. My close encounters of the Clifford kind still rankled me. Besides, I needed something to purge my rancid reaction to Alexis’s rendition of the Rowe/Brown saga. “So I was right about your job—‘serve aAnd Protect.’

  “What do you want, Jacob? A letter of resignation?”

  “I’ll settle for an apology.”

  “I’m sorry about involving Washington Clifford. But I’m not going to apologize for protecting Alexis. If I had to do it again, I’d probably do the same fucking thing.”

  “Got you by the shorthairs, doesn’t she?”

  Teddy shrugged.

  “Teddy can’t help himself,” Alexis’s breathing slowed as she found her way into a familiar groove.

  “Love, Alexis,” Biancho said. “A word that never crosses your lips. You never use that word.” The Chief shook his head. “I thought my marriage would finally free me, but I never should have returned.”