by P. G. Kassel
"Any thoughts on that last radio call?" Romero asked as he guided the cruiser into the parking space.
"What call was that?" Larkin asked, knowing full well what his partner was talking about.
They climbed out of the cruiser and walked around to the trunk. Romero popped it and they pulled out their gear.
"The robbery out at Oceanside," Romero said, realizing Larkin was messing with him.
"I think Wedlow could be involved, if that's what you mean," Larkin replied.
Romero closed the trunk and locked the cruiser. They started walking towards the building entrance.
"If he was, he's gotta be the biggest idiot there is," Romero said. "Who goes and pulls jobs so close together when he knows the cops are looking at him so hard?"
"Something else is going on with him, desperate for money or something," Larkin said.
They pushed open the double doors leading from the garage into the building.
"What's cookin' Bill," Larkin greeted the uniformed officer behind the garage entrance security desk.
"Hi, Jack," Bill responded. “Don't get too relaxed."
"Yeah?"
"The Captain called down a couple of minutes ago," Bill explained. "He said to come see him soon as you got in."
"Uh oh," Romero chuckled.
"Both of you," Bill added. "Leave your gear with me. You can check it in when you're done."
"Come on, laughing boy," Larkin told Romero.
“Hey Jack,” Bill called out after him. “My missus wants to know when you’re going to marry that girl of yours. I think she wants a firm date.”
“Yeah?” Larkin responded without turning around. “Well, tell her things have been a little hectic lately. I’ve had a lot of laundry to do… and then we’ve got the World Series coming up… oh, and I’ve gotta make sure I can get her in on my gym membership.”
The laughter behind him interrupted his flow.
They made their way down the hall to the elevator and took it up to the second floor. The Captain was standing in his office doorway giving instructions to his assistant when they reached his office.
"Larkin, Romero," the Captain greeted them.
"Heard you wanted to see us," Larkin said.
"Yeah, step in a minute," the Captain said, going back into his office.
They followed him in.
"You handled a robbery call this morning, a grocery store over on Ashford?"
"That's right," Larkin answered. "The owner got beat up pretty badly."
The Captain glanced down at a file on his desk. “Yeah, a Mr. Nathan Baumgarten. You like anybody for this?”
“A guy named Martin Wedlow,” Larkin responded.
“Have you talked to him?”
“We talked to him,” Larkin said. “I know he’s good for it but we don’t have enough to do anything about it. I even threatened him with getting a warrant to shake his room, just to see if I’d get a reaction, but I didn’t even have enough to do that.”
“And did you get a reaction?”
“He tensed up quite a bit,” Romero said.
“Well, this may be your lucky day,” the Captain said. “When the detective interviewed Baumgarten this morning he was scared, really scared. He told us he couldn’t identify the perp… but it looks now like he’s had a change of heart.”
“Yeah?” Larkin said.
"The hospital called not ten minutes ago," the Captain explained. "The victim wants to talk to us again. You guys put together a six pack with your suspect’s photo in it and go see our victim."
"You got it," Larkin answered. "But we just got off our shift. It'll mean overtime."
"Like I said," the Captain responded. “This is your lucky day.”
Chapter Twelve
The Girls
You're sure you didn't kill that guy," Stevie whispered, leaning across the table. "Right, Marty?"
"I just cracked his head a little," Marty replied.
This was the second time Stevie had asked the same question in the last ten minutes and normally it would’ve pissed him off. But tonight he was feeling good, really good. The ticket booth had netted him at least a thousand bucks. Good money, damn good money. The whole thing had gone off without any screw ups, too. The money was good enough so he could get out of the city. It wasn't enough to keep him going for long but it was enough for a start for his trip north. He'd leave tomorrow. He could always pick up more money on the way.
"I love fried clams," Stevie said, popping a forkful into his mouth, his expression of apprehension morphing into one of satisfaction.
"Yeah? This burger's good, too," Marty responded.
Their first order of business after leaving the Ferris wheel ride was to find a place to hide the money until the heat died down. Several police units had arrived but they were still mainly focused on the ticket booth and getting reports from the park security people. Only a couple of officers were starting to scan the crowd and it was easy for Marty to find ways around them while he looked for a place to stash the money.
It didn't take him long to spot a little kids' ride that was decorated with oversized flower pots holding oversized, colorful, plastic flowers that lined the front of the ride. They worked their way around to the back of the building housing the ride where they found a few more of the big pots stored against a wall, all of them badly worn or damaged in some way.
After pulling just enough cash out of the dolphin bag to get them through the rest of the evening, Marty stuffed the bag with the rest of the money through a large crack in one of the pots. He turned the cracked side of the pot to the wall and they got out of there.
Now they were kicking back at an open air restaurant, each of them with a beer, and the burger and clams. It had cooled down considerably and there was a gentle breeze blowing in off the ocean.
"Why didn't you order the clams?" Stevie asked him. "They're great here."
"I'm not big on seafood," he answered. "Any of it."
Stevie considered this for a moment and then leaned across the table.
"Marty... how much do you think we got tonight?" Stevie asked in a whisper.
"I tried a rough count while I gathered it up," he replied, keeping his voice low. "I'd say we got about five hundred."
Stevie's eyes widened with excitement. "Five hundred? That's great!"
"Yeah, and that makes your take two hundred," Marty elaborated.
Stevie wrinkled his forehead up while he tried to figure out the math and ended up not looking happy.
"Two?" he asked.
"Hey, which one of us did the tough part?" Marty asked him.
Marty watched indifferently while Stevie thought about it. The guy had never really gotten a good look at the money so he didn't have a clue how much might be there. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
"Nah... nah, you're right," Stevie said, sounding disappointed in spite of his agreeing.
Some movement from the front of the restaurant caught Marty's eye. The hostess was leading a couple of girls to a table about a dozen feet away.
“Holy shit,” Marty exclaimed softly.
Stevie began to rotate in his chair.
“No, don’t look,” Marty ordered.
“What?” Stevie froze, confused.
“A couple of girls just came in. One of them’s dark and curvy. She’s a pretty hot Latina. But shit, the other one,” Marty breathed. “Blonde, tall and slender, tan all over. She’s wearing these tight, short denim shorts. God have mercy.”
Stevie was struggling to keep his eyes in front of him.
"Okay, check it out, but take your time, casual," Marty nodded in the direction of the girls' table as they slid into their chairs.
"You don’t know them?" Stevie asked, taking in the view.
"I'd like to know them," Marty answered, his eyes still on the blonde.
Her hair was cut short and had a purple streak running down the side. She looked to be in her early twenties, but that didn’t matter.
<
br /> "I know what you mean," Stevie said, turning his attention back to the clams.
Marty forced his eyes away from the blonde and took another bite of his burger. There was something about this girl, she was so his type.
Stevie leaned forward again. "Are we going after anymore money tonight?" he whispered.
"More is always better," Marty replied, feeling his eyes drifting back to the girl. "We're gonna be here a while. If I see something that might work for us we'll go for it."
The girls shared a joke and their youthful, uninhibited laughter drifted over to him. Both of them had looks but the blonde's smile had some real power.
"It's been a good day," he heard Stevie say across the table. "I mean, I didn’t like those guys in the alley, but things've gone good, pretty much. If you do see a chance for more cash I think that'd go good too."
Marty had to agree. The incident in the alley could’ve ended a lot worse than it did. And there was Larkin breaking his chops and that freak of a ride operator trying to creep him out, but all in all the day had turned out okay. Cracking the ticket booth had gone smoother than he could've hoped for, and for the first time in a couple of months he finally had some real money in his pocket. Maybe all this good fortune would carry over to the blonde. It was worth going for.
The blonde glanced his way but he could see that she didn't actually see him; she was just looking in his general direction. But maybe that was a sign. She'd see him later, he'd make sure of it.
The waitress brought the two girls their food just as he and Stevie finished up their meal. A minute later their waitress dropped their check down in front of Marty.
"Hang on a second," Marty told the waitress. "You want another beer, Stevie?"
"I thought we were done," Stevie said, confused again.
"I feel like another beer," Marty told the waitress.
"Yeah, okay, bring me another one, too," Stevie said.
The waitress picked up the check and hurried off.
"I thought we were done," Stevie repeated.
"I feel like hanging here a while longer," Marty said, his eyes on the blonde again.
"Why don't you just go over and talk to her?" Stevie asked.
"I'll talk to her when the time's right," Marty assured him.
The waitress brought their beers and the revised check.
Stevie picked up his glass as if it were an obligation. Marty relaxed and leaned back in his chair, sipping slowly at his beer while he watched the two girls eat their dinner.
When the girls finally called for their check, Marty put cash on the table for their bill.
"You treating?" Stevie asked.
"No. You can pay me later."
The girls gathered their things and made their way towards the exit.
Marty got up from his chair and followed after them.
"What're we doing now?" Stevie asked, catching up to him.
"Let's see what the girls are gonna do," Marty responded.
"We're gonna follow them?"
"Kind of."
"So you can find a good time to talk to them?" Stevie persisted.
"Yeah, so I can talk to them."
Chapter Thirteen
Love Hurts
The first ride the blonde and her Latina friend visited after leaving the restaurant was the Tilt-a-Whirl, the clam shell backs of its cars following the park's ocean theme. Marty followed them there, being careful to hang back far enough not to be noticed. Stevie followed behind by a few paces, his lagging a show of his reluctance.
Marty, feeling better than he'd felt in a long time, watched the blonde slide across the car bench to make room for her friend. He could hear her laughter as the ride went into motion.
"We getting on?" Stevie asked.
"Are you kidding?" Marty asked. "We just ate."
"Oh," Stevie sounded bored.
"You don't have to stick with me," Marty said. "Take off and do whatever you want if you like. We can meet up later."
Stevie shifted his weight from foot to foot, his hands in his pockets.
"I wanna stick with you," Stevie finally said.
"Okay, then what's the problem?" Marty asked.
"I don't know. Why don't you just go up and talk to them?" Stevie asked. "Following them around seems kinda weird."
"Whatta you mean by that?" Marty responded with a frown.
"Nothing. Nothing, Marty," Stevie answered quickly, his nerves showing. "I just think you should go up to them if you want to meet her. That's all."
Marty got his anger under control. He wasn't going to let this pill popper ruin his mood tonight.
"I'll talk to them," he said. "When I see it's the right time, I'll talk to them."
Three minutes later the Tilt-a-Whirl slowed and eventually the girls' car stopped at the exit platform. They hurried down the ramp and away through the crowd, heading towards the park's second roller coaster, an almost exact twin of the one built at the end of the pier.
The blonde and her friend got into line for the coaster. Marty let a few people join the line behind the girls and then fell in behind them with Stevie on his heels. The clatter of the cars on the track and the screams of the riders echoed off the buildings and the smooth surface of the parking lot on the opposite side of the coaster.
"I love coasters," Stevie announced with the enthusiasm of a little kid.
"Yeah, they're a blast," Marty responded.
Each of the trains were made up of three cars, and each carried twelve riders, so the line moved quickly. In just a few minutes they were climbing the lift hill. Stevie was taking in the view as they climbed higher and higher, but Marty's eyes were on the blonde riding three seats in front of him.
He felt excited being so close to her, and then there was the added juice in how he felt because she didn't even know he was there. He could watch her but she couldn't see him.
Their car crested the lift hill and Marty watched the blonde's tan arms shoot into the air. There was a tattoo on her upper left arm, a lightening bolt zapping through a rose. She really was his kind of girl. The coaster plummeted downward with a tremendous rush of wind. The riders screamed in happy terror as they raced along the rails, dropping, and then dropping again. After a last hill climb and a severe drop into a circle loop, the train coasted back into the station.
"That was great," Stevie laughed as they stepped onto the platform.
Marty didn't bother agreeing, he was busy keeping his eyes on the blonde and her friend as they climbed out of their car and headed back into the park. They took their time, looking at the sights as they maneuvered through the crowd. After a couple of minutes they paused and appeared to exchange a few words, and then picked up their pace, heading towards the bumper cars.
"Hurry up, Stevie," Marty said, afraid he might lose sight of them.
"If they ride the bumper cars we can get on, too, and crash into them," Stevie said. "That'd be a blast."
"Yeah," Marty muttered.
Actually, as he processed the idea, it didn't sound too bad. Bumper cars were all about getting a laugh by ramming into somebody. It'd get him close to the blonde and her friend, and they could share a few laughs on the ride when they rammed into each other. Afterwards he'd have an opening to talk to them, talk to the blonde.
The girls reached the bumper cars but continued past the entrance heading around to the opposite side of the ride. Marty started to get a weird feeling. There was something familiar about this route and he didn't like it. In another few moments he remembered why.
The girls were heading towards the Inferno Ghost Train, the dark ride. He could see that freak of a ride operator, that Mr. Sabnock or whatever he said his name was, gleefully ushering riders into the cars and dispatching them into the dark tunnel.
"I guess we're not riding this one with them," Stevie quipped.
"You want to lose some teeth?" Marty snapped at him.
"I didn't mean anything," Stevie answered.
Marty let it go and
watched the girls get into the line for the dark ride. He gradually made his way closer to the ride as the blonde and her friend progressed through the line. In a few minutes they were at the front, ready to board the next car. They didn't have long to wait.
As the ride operator ushered the two girls into the car he looked up at Marty and smiled. He didn't look around first, he didn't look up and just happen to see him. No, he knew exactly where to set his eyes when he looked up. And that stinking smile, it jeered and condemned. It was like being poked with a stick, and nobody was going to poke Marty Wedlow with a stick.
Without looking away, the ride operator punched a button on the control console and the car carried the girls into the tunnel. The moment they were out of sight Marty advanced towards the ride. He could hear Stevie's footsteps trying to keep up behind him.
"What's your problem, asshole?" Marty called out, stopping at the restraining rail closest to the ride operator.
Sabnock's smile became more mocking as he continued ushering riders into the cars and seeing them off.
"Are you back for another ride?" Sabnock asked.
"I wanna know what your problem is," Marty replied, his voice angry.
"Marty, come on, let's go," Stevie said, his tone nervous.
"Get in line, Mr. Wedlow. You certainly must want to ride," Sabnock said. "After all what you're sniffing after is inside, isn't it?"
And then he began to laugh. A low, raspy, gnawing laugh that made Marty angrier than he'd been in months.
"I'll slap that grin right off..." Marty growled as he began climbing over the rail.
He could feel Stevie pulling him back, pulling him off the rail.
"No, Marty, no!" Stevie pleaded.
Sabnock's laughter increased. Marty spun around and pushed Stevie up against the wall, ready to pound him.
"Think of the money," Stevie said in an intense whisper. "Think of the money. We get into any trouble now we might lose the money. We might even get caught."