Slash and burn jh-3

by Matt Hilton

  'Easy, big guy,' I laughed. You'd think we hadn't seen each other for years instead of the few days it had been. But that's Rink for you.

  'Things looked clear on the way over here,' Harvey said.

  'I was hoping that we would spot a tail,' Rink said. 'After coolin' my heels at court all week I could've done with the action.'

  Distracted by the fact that Kate was being held by dangerous people, I didn't care much about Rupert Heavey. If his defence attorneys called for a mistrial due to the no-show of the key prosecuting witness, then to hell with it. It was like Rink said: there were more ways to skin Heavey than by putting him through the legal system.

  Shutting the door behind them, I got the preamble out of the way. 'You said you had something interesting about Robert Huffman?'

  Harvey slid the bag off his shoulder and pulled out his laptop. He cabled it up to a socket in the wall. We'd chosen this motel because it advertised internet access in all rooms. Sitting on the bed with the computer on his thighs, Harvey began tapping keys. A minute later he turned the screen to me so I could take a look.

  'Robert Huffman,' Harvey said. 'Entrepreneur businessman. Multi-millionaire.'

  Huffman was a good-looking guy. No doubt about it. He looked fit and healthy, and dressed the part. He was wearing a navy suit, white shirt, light red tie. He had a lot of upper-body definition that the suit couldn't disguise. Long slim legs. He looked like an athlete who'd retired from competition but had kept up his training regime. He had short, immaculately styled hair. It was growing grey, but it gave him that 'distinguished look' that people talk about. His face was tanned and lean.

  Whoever had taken the photograph had caught him smiling, but I didn't buy the look. His lips were too tight and his dark eyes too cold. He had the black depthless gaze of a shark.

  I stared at his photograph and I hated the bastard.

  Harvey tapped keys and another shot of Huffman came up on the screen. He was younger in this shot. His hair was black. Still smiling without any emotion extending to his dead eyes. Except this time he was wearing an orange jumpsuit. There were numbers beneath his name.

  'He's done time,' I said.

  Harvey pointed at the name of the correctional unit. Seagoville. A federal prison on US Highway 75 to the south-east of Dallas. Not far from where we were.

  'Minimum security,' Harvey said. 'Huffman did time, yeah, but it wasn't hard time.'

  'What was he locked up for?'

  'He cut a man's throat.'

  'And he only went to a minimum security prison?'

  'The charges were dropped from murder in the first when he hit the cops with a little quid pro quo,' Rink explained. 'He went state evidence against his former employers, the Texas Syndicate. In exchange for putting away the Felitta brothers, his charges were dropped to manslaughter. He did three years' soft time at Seagoville.'

  'I'm surprised he made it out the other end. No one likes a grass.'

  Harvey raised his eyebrows. 'No one fucks with Quicksilver.'

  'Quicksilver?'

  'That was Huffman's street name. He was the Dallas syndicate's top enforcer. By all accounts he was a very capable killer. No one was going to go against him.'

  'Not when it was all a set-up,' Rink added.

  'What kind of set-up?'

  'There's an assumption that it was just a plot to get rid of the Felittas,' Rink said. 'His arrest allowed him to talk to the DEA out from under the eyes of his bosses. The Felittas were the supposed power in the syndicate, but Huffman was just bubbling away under the surface, ready to take over when he got his chance.'

  'So he gave the DEA all they needed to put the Felittas away,' I said, 'with the intention of taking over where they left off? Criminals don't stand around when there's a gap in the market, I'd have thought some other outfit would have moved in while he was away.'

  Harvey shook his head. 'It wasn't like that, Hunter. The other syndicates stayed out of the way. They left Dallas alone for when Huffman could come back. His actions with the Felittas have been forgiven by the other syndicate heads, if you get my meaning?'

  'It suited them that the Felittas were out of the picture?'

  'Yeah,' Harvey said. 'The Felittas were old school: no one wanted to deal with them any more. When he was released from prison the other syndicate heads welcomed Huffman back with open arms. In some eyes his going down for three years was seen as heroic; like he's some goddamn martyr to the cause.'

  'So he did his three years then walked out and into the Felittas' shoes?'

  'Not exactly,' Harvey said. 'The syndicates left Dallas alone, but others had moved in. By the time Huffman came back the street gangs were running the narcotics and prostitution. But Huffman wasn't interested in that any more. He saw his future in real estate. You've seen what he's been up to around Little Fork, right? That's only one of his ventures.'

  'There are others?'

  'Many others.'

  'So he has plenty of people in his pocket,' I assumed. 'Plenty of Bolans and Aitkens to pull on if need be?'

  'My guess is that there are lots of people at his beck and call,' Harvey said. 'But they're not the ones we should be worried about. The other syndicates owe him. He did time for them. He can probably pull on any of the mobs, ask for their help. We could be going up against some of the top enforcers in the country.'

  'Bring it on,' Rink said. He looked like he meant it.

  'Mob enforcers aren't usually the type to work outside their frame,' I said. 'It isn't as if every syndicate in the country is going to send their best man. You ask me, there'd be way too many competing egos. They'd probably spend more time fighting each other than they would looking for me.'

  'It only takes one,' Harvey said. 'If he's good enough.'

  'Yeah.' It was a sobering thought.

  Huffman hadn't been talking about only one man. He'd been talking plural. We really had no idea about how many men he was sending against me. But it didn't matter; if they came I'd stop them. Simple as that. I wasn't going to worry about them until they showed up. I certainly wasn't going to run and hide.

  'Why Quicksilver?' I asked.

  It was Rink who chose to answer. He did so in his usual drawl. 'The pussy is good with a blade. Skilled and very fast, they say. Y'know, as in quick with the silver?'

  'We've been there before.' I saw Rink's fingers go to a livid scar on his chin. The scar was courtesy of Tubal Cain, a serial killer who was very good with a knife. Cain made the mistake of abducting my brother, John, and we'd hunted him down. Cain had cut the two of us – he'd almost killed me, but I'd rammed a bone from his stash of trophies in his throat. 'We'll stop Huffman, too.'

  'Don't underestimate him, guys,' Harvey cautioned. 'There are stories about Huffman. Apparently his specialty is to slice the throat, but he's also been known to peel off the faces of his enemies while they're still alive. If the stories about him are true, he's as bad a dude as any you've gone up against.'

  I sniffed in disdain. But Harvey was right: you should never underestimate anyone, especially when he was the top enforcer of a crime syndicate. Nobody gains that accolade without proving himself.

  'Any word from Imogen yet?' Rink asked.

  I shook my head.

  'Let me have her number,' Harvey said. 'I'll see if her phone can be located.'

  Passing Kate's phone over to him, I said, 'I doubt you'll get anywhere. My guess is that Huffman's already tried that.'

  Harvey smiled. 'Huffman won't have the contacts I have.'

  He handed the phone back after memorising the number. 'Keep that close in case Imogen does get back to you.'

  'I'm expecting another call,' I explained, putting Kate's phone in my jacket pocket.

  'Huffman?' Harvey asked.

  'He's bound to press Kate for a way to contact me. He'll find out that she left her phone back at the motel and guess that I have it now.'

  'Maybe we should get rid of it. He could use it to find you.'

  'You said he
didn't have the contacts you do.'

  'And I mean it, but it's easy to find an active phone. Kate's service provider could run a search for hers. I don't doubt he has contacts at that level.'

  'We don't have to worry about that, Harvey, because I'm going to find him first.'

  'Assuming he's here, that is,' Rink said.

  'He's here. It's his home turf; it's where he'll feel strongest.'

  'Shouldn't be too difficult to find him,' Harvey put in. 'All I need do is a search of public records. See who owns what and then track back to a registered office.'

  'Or we could look in a phone book.'

  I picked the yellow pages off a stand by the bed and dropped it next to Harvey. It was open to a page I'd marked by folding down a corner. 'Huffman is supposed to be a bona fide businessman these days. He has his own ad right there.'

  Harvey laughed. He closed down his computer and picked up the telephone directory.

  'Sometimes the old ways are the best,' I said.

  Chapter 25

  'Tell me about Joe Hunter.'

  Robert Huffman had just received a status update from Little Fork, and he was surprised by what he'd heard. Hunter – as he'd already known – had been to le Coeur de la Ville. According to one of the men Huffman had sent there, Hunter had gone in with extreme prejudice. No one was left alive. Huffman's valet, Eric Conroy, was dead. Judge Wallace was dead. Jim Aitken was dead. Even Larry Bolan was missing and presumed dead. With no one left to helm damage control, Little Fork was now swarming with state troopers and agents from the FBI field office at Frankfort. His men were getting out of there and returning to Dallas.

  'There's more to this man than meets the eye,' Huffman said. 'Tell me what it is.'

  Kate was no longer handcuffed, but she was still a prisoner.

  She was sitting in a chair with two men watching over her. Their guns were holstered, but they were an ever-present threat. Kate knew not to stand up without their permission. She only went to the bathroom if one of them went with her. She was given food and water, but the cutlery was plastic and the plates were paper.

  'I don't know much about him,' she said.

  Huffman was standing over her. But he wasn't menacing her as Larry Bolan had back at the restaurant. He stood with his hands folded, peering down at her with what was supposed to be a kindly smile. Somehow that was much worse.

  'So tell me what you do know,' Huffman said.

  'I know that you're in serious trouble. Kidnapping a police officer is possibly the least of your crimes, but it'll be the end of you. You've just attracted the attention of the FBI. They won't rest until they find me and you're locked away for life.'

  Huffman laughed softly. He unfolded his hands and he showed her the cut-throat razor cupped in his palm. He didn't need to move any closer; the way Kate shrank back from him was enough.

  'Who says that anyone will ever find you, Officer Piers?' he asked. 'No one knows you're here. In Little Fork you weren't acting under any jurisdiction. I've checked with a source in the NYPD: apparently you are on vacation, Kate. Your trip to Kentucky was off the books. If I cut you up into little chunks and scatter your remains over the plain out there, who would know where to look?'

  'I told colleagues I was visiting with my sister. When I'm not found there, they'll start looking for me. You're the first person that the FBI will come to.'

  'Why would they come to me?'

  'I told them my sister was having trouble with you.'

  'Ah, the unpaid bill she was complaining about?'

  'Exactly. I can't believe that this is all a result of a goddamn unpaid bill.'

  Kate was pushing for information herself, but Huffman wasn't about to enlighten her.

  'If I'm questioned I'll feign ignorance. I've been in Dallas for the last two weeks. I have a hundred people who will swear to that.' Huffman lifted the razor and studied it. 'Now, Kate, let's not waste any more time. Tell me what you know about Joe Hunter.'

  'He's just a guy I hired to help me find my sister.'

  Huffman used the razor to cut an imaginary loose thread from his tie.

  'Just a guy?' He thought of all the death and destruction that the guy had caused in Kentucky. 'How did you find him?'

  'He advertises. I called him. Simple as that.'

  'Please don't lie to me, Kate.' Huffman cupped the razor in his palm again. He went behind her and laid the hand on her shoulder. The steel was like a sliver of ice against her flesh. Kate tried not to shiver, but he could feel the tension in her body. 'You knew him before this.'

  'No. I've just met him.'

  'Where?'

  'New York.'

  Huffman teased a lock of Kate's hair with his fingers.

  'If he's from New York, what were you doing in Florida?' Kate slowly moved her head so that her hair was pulled from between his fingertips. 'I've checked. You flew from Tampa to Little Fork. Before that you flew from New York alone. He's not from New York, Kate, he's from Florida, isn't he?'

  'He met me in Florida. He had other business there.'

  Huffman clucked his tongue. 'Why are you protecting him, Kate? If he's just some P.I. you hired, why all the lies?' He plucked at the lock of hair again. 'Are you lovers?'

  'No.' She wrenched her head aside. Huffman followed with his hand, and this time he gripped her hair tighter. 'I told you, I just met him,' Kate said.

  'You seem angry. Is it because I'm touching you, or could I have hit a raw nerve?'

  'We're not lovers,' Kate spat out. 'Why would you think that?'

  'Oh, just the impression I got when I spoke to him on the phone.'

  'You spoke to him?' Kate's voice was barely above a whisper. 'What did he say?'

  Huffman smiled. Kate was a police officer. She'd been trained to deal with difficult situations like this. Ordinarily he'd struggle to get anything from a cop, which was why he was appealing more to her private side. He felt a tremor flood through her. He knew that there was much more to Joe Hunter than she was admitting to.

  'He wants you back. Doesn't that strike you as strange… seeing as you just met?'

  'I'm paying him to find my sister. I'm his meal ticket. Of course he wants me back.'

  'Oh, there's more to it than that, Kate. It's obvious that Hunter cares for you. I think that you care for him as well. Therefore I believe you know much more about him than you're telling.'

  Kate shook her head, but the movement was too rehearsed.

  'I've told you-'

  'That you only just met?' Huffman dropped his hand to her shoulder again. He allowed the flat of his razor to trace the line of her collarbone. 'Yes, you did tell me that. But sometimes people can't deny the attraction. Call me an old romantic, Kate: I believe in love at first sight.'

  Kate didn't answer. Huffman allowed his blade to drift lower so it rested on the swell of her breasts. Turning the razor ever so slightly it snicked through a strap on her bra. The bra slipped, displaying the dark edge of an areola. Kate immediately moved to cover herself, but Huffman tapped her fingers with the blunt side of the blade. He turned to the two guards. They were hard-faced men, not the best of lookers. He'd picked them as Kate's jailers for that very reason.

  'Guys,' he said, 'How long have you known the lovely Kate?'

  'Couple of hours, boss.'

  'Do you think she's beautiful?'

  'I'd fuck her,' said one. The other guffawed and added his feelings on the subject.

  Huffman returned his attention to Kate. He walked round her slowly. 'Do you see how quickly attractions can be built? Now, I know my friend, Rourke, over there was perhaps a little uncouth, but he illustrates my point.'

  'He's a pig! And so are you.'

  'Yes. But let's not dwell on it. Tell me about Joe Hunter.'

  Kate closed her eyes.

  'He's just a guy.'

  Huffman placed the razor blade against her jaw. 'If I sliced off your face, would he still want you back?'

  The cold steel dug a furrow in her fles
h, but Kate tried not to flinch. A single bead of blood welled out. 'He wouldn't get paid. I'm sure that would piss him off.'

  Huffman finally walked away from her and she tugged her bra back into place.

  'Very noble, Kate,' he said. 'Protecting your man.'

  'He's not my man.'

  'OK, we seem to have established that. So we'll move on to the next question. Where's Imogen?'

  'I don't know.'

  From across the room he looked at her again. He folded his hands, and stood like he was contemplating her words. 'That's the first time you haven't lied to me, Kate. It looks like we could be getting somewhere, after all.'

  Kate turned her face to the floor, refusing to look at him. Blood trickled from the shallow nick in her jaw, pooling in the hollow of her throat.

  Huffman nodded at Rourke. 'What you said a moment ago: if you feel the urge, just make sure she's still breathing afterwards.'

  Kate's eyes snapped open.

  Huffman shrugged.

  'If Hunter's not your man, then you're fair game.'

  He turned his back and left the room, closing the door behind him as Kate shouted in denial. Rourke was a pig, but he would help break down the woman until she'd tell him everything. Later he'd return and if she still wasn't forthcoming, maybe he'd reintroduce her to the sharp edge of his razor.

  He was one floor up in a short vestibule that led into a large living space. He passed through both and out on to a veranda, where he leaned his elbows on the veranda rail, and looked out at his surroundings: not downtown Dallas, but flat grassland. In the distance was a line of trees that marked the perimeter fence to the ranch. The trees were almost a mile away. Anyone approaching would have to traverse the open space first. He would see Joe Hunter coming.

  With Imogen Ballard or without.

  He relished the idea of meeting Hunter man to man.

  Even if such a distraction was probably counter-productive to his business interests, he was looking forward to taking on a man who'd proven so resourceful up until now. His life as a businessman had taken away the freedom he'd enjoyed when he was the Felitta brothers' enforcer. Back then he could sate his need for violence whenever he desired. But, since he'd swapped his blade for a business portfolio, life had been a little boring. The challenge that Hunter presented made him feel alive.