The Harry Starke Series: Books 1-3: The Harry Starke Series Boxset

by Blair Howard

  “I know. That’s why we’re here. Look, I’m a licensed instructor; we can do this; we can qualify you. It takes eight hours; we can do that over the next few days. This Glock is a lovely little weapon. Kate carries one. Come on. Give it a try.” And, bless her, so she did. She did better than give it a try.

  An hour later, she was handling the Glock like she’d been doing it all her life. She still was a bit wild with her aim. Even so, by the time we left the range, she could hit the silhouette of a man at five yards ten times out of ten, and she could load and work the weapon like a pro. I was damned proud of her, and although she wouldn’t admit it, I could tell she was proud of herself. I didn’t tell her that hitting a target was one thing, hitting a real live person was something else again. She done good. No point in squelching her confidence.

  We put the Glock into her bag, where she could get at it, and we got out of there. Fifteen minutes later, at just after eight o’clock, we were shoveling Chinese food in our mouths. She was, by the look of it, even hungrier than I was.

  By nine-thirty, we were outside my home on Lakeshore Lane. I was about to pull into the garage when I suddenly had a weird feeling. I looked down the road, past my condo. Unfortunately, there were no streetlights, but the night was clear and there was enough light from the neighboring buildings for me to see that there was a car parked at the roadside some hundred yards away. Normally, I would have driven on past, just to be nosy, but I had Amanda with me, and if it turned out to be.... Well, I didn’t want to put her in danger.

  I hit the garage door opener, drove inside, closed the door, went up the stairs to the kitchen and set the security alarm. She reached for the light switch, but I stopped her.

  “Hold on. I need to take a quick look out the window.”

  She looked at me, bemused.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Probably nothing.” I cracked the blind with a finger and peered through. The car was gone. I didn’t feel comfortable. I turned on the lights, went to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of Pinot Grigio and two glasses, and then we both settled onto the couch in front of the picture window. I grabbed the remote and dimmed the lights. As the lights went down, so the great river came to life in front of us. A light breeze was whipping the surface of the water, and it sparkled and shimmered from the lights of the Thrasher Bridge.

  I spent the next thirty minutes filling her in on what had transpired during my visit to Sal De Luca and the precautions I’d implemented. She listened without interrupting until I had finished, then she stood up and, wine glass in hand, walked to the window and stood looking out over the water. It was a rare sight, and one I was well content to enjoy.

  She stood with her back to me, legs slightly apart, glass in her right hand, her left hand closed to a fist rested on her hip. Her hips and head were cocked slightly to the right, most of her weight was on her right leg. Her skirt tight against her legs was cut four inches above the knee, and thus she was silhouetted against the lights across the river: stunning.

  She must have stood like that, thinking, for five minutes, maybe more, and then she turned and looked down at me. “Harry, what the hell are we going to do?”

  I could see she was very worried. I thought for a moment, a glib answer on the tip of my tongue, but I thought better of it. I decided to be brutally honest with her.

  “Amanda, I have no idea. De Luca is a psychopath, a killer. I don’t think it will end until one of us is dead, and I don’t plan on that being me.”

  She looked at me, horrified, raised her glass, emptied it in one huge mouthful, and poured herself another. Then she came over and sat down beside me.

  “Damn it, Harry. I don’t want to lose you.” There were tears in her eyes. I shook my head. At that moment, I think I was more pissed off than I have ever been.

  “You’re not going to. I promise.” Now that was a damn fool thing to say.

  “Look, I don’t know how this is going to play out. The only thing I can do is wait for De Luca to make his move; then end it, quickly. If I have to kill him, I will.”

  She didn’t answer. She just cuddled up against me and sipped on her wine. It was nice, but it wasn’t, if you get my meaning. I was as tight as a goddamn drum and my head was splitting. I needed a shower, and I needed some sleep.

  “Come on,” I said, standing up and taking her by the hand. “Let’s get some sleep. I need to get you out of here early in the morning. I know you have clothes in the spare room. Do you have anything you can wear tomorrow?”

  She stood, nodded, and said, “I have jeans and a turtleneck. They’ll do.”

  “Maybe you should....”

  “What?”

  “I dunno. I was just thinking. Would you like to stay here, just until this thing with De Luca is over? I don’t mind taking you to and from work. I’d feel better if I could keep an eye on you.”

  “Oh my God. You are such a sweetie... but....”

  “No buts,” I said. “It’s just temporary, a precaution.”

  “But what about Kate?”

  “What about her? It’s over. Has been for months. It’s none of her business.”

  “So you say. Do you not see the way she looks at you?”

  “Geeze, Amanda. The woman barely talks to me. Look. It’s done. I’ll take you to work in the morning, pick you up from the station around ten-thirty, then we’ll go to your place, you can pack some clothes, and then we’ll go shopping and come back to Castle Lakeshore Lane. What do you say?”

  “What the hell...” she said, “yes.”

  Chapter 15

  The following morning, I dropped Amanda off at Channel 7 and went to my office. I grinned when I saw the gate to the lot closed and locked. Hah, that’s a first. My little talk must have hit home.

  When I got out of the car to unlock the gate, I suddenly felt vulnerable, so much so the back of my neck itched. I looked around; nothing. I parked the car, closed the gate, and went into the outer office through the side door. Jacque was at her desk.

  “Good morning, Jacque,” I said, as I headed for the Keurig. “Any word on an automatic gate?”

  “Yes, I talked to Overhead Doors late yesterday afternoon. They were out here this morning. They can get one installed today... but it’s going to be—”

  “Yeah, I know. Expensive. I don’t care. Get it done. I want it in and working before we leave tonight. I had a bad feeling just now when I was unlocking the gate. We don’t need to be getting out of our vehicles.”

  “I knew you’d say that. I placed the order with the foreman before he left. They’ll be here by nine this morning and they won’t leave until it’s finished.”

  I grinned at her. That’s my girl.

  “What about Skerrett? Can he do the cameras?”

  “He can. He’s already on his way. I’ll let you know when he gets here.”

  Now I was feeling better. I took my coffee, went into the office, and flopped down into my throne behind the desk. I had one more chore to do before I could get on with my day; it was one I was dreading. I took a deep breath, hit the speed dial on my iPhone, and called Kate. This should just about finish things between us.

  “Good morning, Harry. What do you need?”

  I filled her in on the precautions I was taking, that I thought someone had been watching my home, and then I told her about my fitting Amanda with a firearm. She agreed that it was a good idea and said she would indeed expedite the concealed carry process for her.

  “Anything else, Harry?”

  I closed my eyes. “Look, Kate, I know how this is going to sound, but it’s not what you think. Amanda is going to stay with me until this thing with De Luca is over.”

  “Good idea, Harry. The lady is a bit of a ditz. She’d make a good target. When are you moving her in?” Damn. That was easy.

  I didn’t know what to say. I just sat there, thinking.

  “Harry? You still there?”

  “Er... yes. Kate....”

  “Oh stop it,” she interr
upted. “What did you think I would say? Amanda is a wonderful person, a bit flakey at times, but I like her, a lot. De Luca is a head case. She’s an obvious target. You did good. Now, do you need anything else?”

  “No, not now. Thanks, Kate. I’ll call you later, when I know where the hell I am at.”

  I looked at my watch. It was just after nine-thirty; I’d promised to pick Amanda up at ten-thirty. I had time to do a little thinking. I grabbed another cup of coffee and settled down. I put De Luca out of my mind. Oh yeah, sure you did.

  Jacque poked her head in the door. “Tom Skerrett is here.”

  “Show him in.” She did.

  “Hey, Tom. What do you have for me?”

  “I have cameras, a recorder, and I’ll hook everything up so y’all can monitor it on your iPhones.”

  “Hi-def cameras, right? I don’t want that cheap black and white crap. I want to be able to identify people, intruders.”

  He nodded. “I anticipated that. This system has eight cameras, four for the exterior and four for inside. The recorder has a three-terabyte hard drive good for thirty days of recording, more if you use the system in motion detection mode. It has good night vision and, as I said, you can monitor the system on your iPhone. It’s a good outfit. I wouldn’t offer you anything less.”

  “You can install it today?” He nodded. “Good. Let’s do it.” We shook hands and he left.

  I took a fresh legal pad and a mechanical pencil from the desk door, flipped open the pad, and stared at it; the blank page stared back at me. I wrote the date and time, threw the pencil down on the desk, leaned back in the chair, hoisted my feet up onto the desk, folded my arms and closed my eyes.

  The next thing I knew, my cell phone was buzzing, walking across the top of the desk. I grabbed it and looked at the screen. Amanda.

  “Where the hell are you?” she asked; she was agitated.

  I looked at my watch. It was 10:45. I’d slept for almost an hour.

  “Geeze, Amanda. I’m sorry. I got tied up. I’m leaving now. Stay inside and wait for me.”

  I grabbed my heavy coat, checked the shoulder rig and the M&P9, and rushed out the door.

  “Damn, Jacque,” I said, as I passed her desk. “Why the hell did you let me sleep like that?”

  “I....”

  “Never mind,” I said. “No harm done. Back after lunch. Hold the fort.” No harm done, my ass.

  Out in the lot, they were already at work. The old gate was down and Tom Skerrett was on the roof installing a camera on the corner of the building. Fifteen minutes later, I walked into Channel 7’s reception area. Amanda wasn’t there.

  “She’s in her office,” the girl behind the desk said. “I’ll let her know you’re here, Mr. Starke.”

  “Not a good start, Harry,” she said and she stalked past me and out of the building.

  “Hey,” I said, grabbing her arm as she reached for the handle of the car door. “I’m sorry. Hell, Amanda. I fell asleep at my desk.”

  “You what? You fell asleep?” She glared at me, then her face softened, she smiled, and then she started laughing.

  “What?”

  “You, falling asleep. I never was much, Harry. Now I know how you really feel about me.” She was joking, I could tell, I hoped.

  When we arrived at her apartment building, I drove around the block, looking for anything out of the ordinary; nothing, but it was right then when I realized just how well De Luca’s strategy was working. In the space of less than forty-eight hours, my world, and that of those around me, had been turned upside down. But not for long, damn it; not if I can help it.

  I’d been in Amanda’s apartment only once before. She wasn’t one to live high off the hog. It was comfortable, efficient, a place to sleep, and that was about all. But she did have a lot of clothes.

  “Oh my God, Amanda,” I said, as she started to fill a fourth suitcase. “That’s enough. Hell, I didn’t ask you to come live with me, just to stay for a few days.”

  “I know. These should last five, maybe six days. I do need several changes, you know, for work. Besides, you might like having me around.”

  “Damn,” I muttered. “No wonder I like living alone.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Nothing... nothing. Look, you can have my spare bedroom. The closet should be big enough.” Hell, maybe it won’t.

  “Not on your life, Big Boy. You think I’m gonna live with you and sleep in the spare room. Think again. I’m gonna wear you out, Buddy.”

  I grinned and shook my head. Might not be so bad after all.

  I dropped her off at my place so she could unpack. I didn’t need to take her to work; she’d arranged to take some vacation time. I told her to stay put, not to open the door to anyone but me, and then I headed back to the office. It was lunchtime.

  Chapter 16

  When I got back to the office, the new gate was already in place; it just wasn’t working yet. Be that as it may, I didn’t want to leave my car on the street, so I had the workers move it out of the way and let me through. They did, with much mumbling and complaining. It took four of them to move the heavy gate.

  Inside, Tom Skerrett was showing Jacque and Bob how the camera system worked. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. I waved my hand for him to continue; Jacque could show me how it all worked later.

  I went to my office and called Kate.

  “Hey,” I said, when she answered. “You want to get some lunch?”

  “Sure. When?”

  “I’m thinking Steak & Shake on Gunbarrel. That work for you?”

  She said it would, and that she’d meet me there in thirty minutes. I parked the car in front of the window where I knew I would be able to see it from inside the restaurant. I was waiting for her when she arrived. As always, she looked great, and I suffered a moment of regret. All those years....

  “So what did you want, Harry?” she said, as we waited for the receptionist to seat us. It was busy; always is.

  “Oh a couple of things.... I miss our times together, Kate.”

  “Me, too, but it was your choice, Harry. Now we both have to live with it. Why are you bringing this up now? Is it Amanda?”

  “No, and I don’t know. I need to talk to you about Hill House.”

  “Well, I was about to call you. CSI found another body. In the basement, well, in the old drainage system. There’s an iron grill down there. Doc Sheddon’s not sure yet, but he thinks it’s been down there a long time. Could be connected. We’ll see.”

  I can’t say I was surprised. Where there’s one body, there’s often more, sometimes several more.

  “Male?” I asked. “Female?”

  “We don’t know yet. What’s left of it is a mess... you don’t want to know. How’s the head?”

  “It’s fine. Why do you ask?”

  “Not your head, dummy. The reconstruction?”

  “Oh that. Coming along. She started yesterday and is working full time. I hope it will be finished tomorrow.”

  The waiter arrived, and we ordered. I had a mushroom steakburger; Kate had chicken taco salad

  “Listen, Kate. I’m really bothered about this mess with De Luca. You’re looking out for yourself, right?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, I get it. Now. I have a real bad feeling about the Dickersons. I think they are hand in glove with De Luca. How, I don’t know yet, but I’ll find out. The Draycotts? I think something stinks there, too, though what it might be I have no idea. Both of them talk a good game, but something just doesn’t jell with me. Not sure what Bob thinks, but I’m going to sit down with him when I get back to the office. One thing I do know is that Bob doesn’t like Sam Draycott, and I trust his instincts.”

  “What do you mean, something doesn’t jell?”

  “I don’t know. I’m reasonably certain that what they’re doing is on the up and up, but there was something I just couldn’t put my finger on: the tone of his voice, sometimes; body language; whatever.
It’ll come to me, but.... Look, I know damn well they know, or knew, the Dickersons. Why would they hide that?”

  She shook her head, content just to sit and listen to me ramble on. The truth was that I didn’t have a good feel for either organization.

  I sat there, stirring my coffee, daydreaming; I was away with the birds. Odd, hazy, disconnected thoughts ran through my head.

  “Hey. You still with me?”

  “Oh, sorry,” I said. “Look, I need to get back. Call you later?”

  “Of course. Anytime. By the way. Did you get Amanda moved in?”

  “Yeah, I did.” I didn’t elaborate. I didn’t want to, and I sure didn’t want to sit looking at the smirk.

  “I’ll call you when I figure it out. Oh, and let me know what Doc Sheddon comes up with on the body in the drain. Later?”

  “Yeah, later.”

  I left her there, staring after me. I could see her watching through the window as I got into the car.

  Back at the office, I visited Samantha in the back office. She was hard at work. The head looked weird, all dark brown muscle with little white studs sticking out of it.

  “How’s it going, Sam? Have you had lunch? You need anything?”

  She turned and looked at me, smiling. “Do you always converse in questions, Mr. Starke? Fine, yes, and no.”

  I grinned at her. “Think you’ll finish it tomorrow?”

  “I was hoping so, but....”

  “Well, don’t stress over it. I need it to be a good job, a real likeness. Take your time. She’s been dead a long time. A couple of days will make no difference to her now. Just make sure you get it right.”

  She smiled at me, obviously relieved. “I will. I promise.”

  “Okay, Samantha. I don’t want you here over the weekend. Do what you can, then start over on Monday morning.”

  She agreed.

  I went to my office. I beckoned for Bob to join me. “Hey. How’s the ankle?”

  “Better,” he said, leaning his cane against my desk.

  “You thought anymore about our interviews with the Dickersons and Draycotts?”