[Tanner 16.0] To Kill a Killer

by Remington Kane

  He moaned loudly, then tried to see his reflection in the glass of the passenger side door.

  “What did you do, Tanner, shoot me in the head?”

  “Don’t give me any ideas.”

  “You’re going to kill me?”

  “No, as of right now, we’re partners.”

  “Partners?”

  Bruno had shouted the word in surprise while sitting up straighter. That simple movement made him moan again from the pain in his head.

  “You’re going to help me kill Scallato.”

  “I don’t trust you, Tanner. Even if you somehow killed Maurice, you would just turn around and kill me.”

  “Not if you do everything I say.”

  “Fine, then free my hands, partner.”

  “What were you and Durand talking about tonight?”

  “You saw that? She said you would.”

  “Who’s she?”

  “Never mind.”

  Tanner had reached his destination. It was the rear of a shopping center that was closed for the day and had a section being renovated. He parked the Porsche behind a tall stack of wallboard and cut the engine.

  An instant later, he had a gun pressed hard against Bruno’s side.

  “I’m beginning to think you’re stupid, Bruno. I don’t partner up with stupid people. This ‘she’ you mentioned, who is it?”

  “Sabella Barbieri, she’s Durand’s assistant and Maurice’s pet cop.”

  “Pet cop? Sabella was a cop?”

  “Yeah, that’s why Maurice turned her.”

  “And Durand?”

  “He’s being used by Sabella. Whatever she learns by working with Durand goes right back to Maurice, same thing when she was with Interpol.”

  “You’re telling me that Durand is innocent of trying to set me up?”

  “Yeah, we had him thinking that he was helping you. He wants Maurice dead too. The funny thing is, Durand wants Maurice dead because of Sabella. Durand thinks she hates Maurice.”

  Tanner took out his phone.

  “Shut up while I make a call.”

  “You’ll let me live, right?”

  “Shut up!”

  Tanner’s call went through but was picked up by voice mail.

  “Sara, call me back. It’s urgent.”

  “Sara? Is that the woman you were with at the hotel? That desk clerk says she’s hot.”

  Tanner turned his head and stared at Bruno.

  “I’m shutting up,” Bruno said.

  Sara eased her finger off the trigger of her concealed gun as she realized what Durand had done. He wasn’t pointing his gun at her, he’d been offering it to her.

  Sara reached over and took it, even as she felt her phone vibrate.

  “Why did you give up your gun, Jacques?”

  “To prove that I mean you no harm, nor would I try to have Tanner killed. Why would you think that?”

  Sara showed Durand the gun she had in her pocket.

  “I almost shot you.”

  Her phone stopped buzzing and Sara took it out of her back pocket, where she had placed it to make room for the hidden gun.

  “That was Tanner calling,” she explained to Durand.

  Sara listened to the voice mail and then called Tanner’s phone, when he answered, Sara only wanted to know one thing.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m good. What about you?”

  “I’m fine, but just a little confused about who to trust.”

  “Have you met with Durand yet?”

  “I’m doing that right now.”

  “He’s clean, Sara; don’t hurt him.”

  “I could have used this call sooner.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing serious,” Sara said, then she told Tanner that they were in Durand’s suite.

  “You two stay put and I’ll be right there, with a guest in tow. I have Bruno with me.”

  “Alive or dead?”

  “Bruno’s alive, and he’ll remain that way if he stays smart.”

  “Hurry up, I miss you.”

  “Same here, and one more thing, Durand’s assistant, Sabella Barbieri, she’s Scallato’s pet cop, not Durand.”

  “I knew there was a reason I didn’t like her.”

  “I’m on my way, and hungry, tell Durand to order up some food. It could be a long night.”

  “There’s champagne here and caviar on the way.”

  “I meant real food.”

  Sara laughed. Then thought how good it was to have someone in her life again. The weeks they’d spent together in Genoa had made the new phase of their relationship more real than its start, which was born of a mutual attraction. She and Tanner were lovers, yes, and perhaps not yet in love, but there was feeling and emotion between them, and they both knew the other felt it.

  “Tanner.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ll tell you later, when we’re alone.”

  “Sara, you don’t need to tell me.”

  She smiled into the phone.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I’ll be there in less than ten minutes, and oh, along with the food, order some aspirin for Bruno.”

  Sara ended the call and saw that Durand had a questioning look.

  “Is Tanner coming here?”

  “Yes, and he’s bringing along Bruno Allende.”

  Durand studied her face as Sara handed him back his gun.

  “There’s more, I can tell by your expression.”

  “Jacques, how well do you know Sabella Barbieri?”

  32

  The First One To Die Wins

  Inside Jacques Durand’s small hotel suite, Tanner sat beside Sara in a loveseat, while Bruno sat to their left in a chair. Upon arriving, Durand had cuffed one of Bruno’s wrists while attaching the other end of the cuff to the small chandelier that hung above the coffee table.

  That allowed Tanner and Sara to have a private word with Durand in the bedroom. Once they returned to the suite’s seating area, Tanner had Durand free Bruno, with the admonition that Bruno not do anything stupid.

  Jacques Durand then paced the room as he talked about his assistant, Sabella Barbieri, a longtime friend whom he had just discovered had been betraying him for years.

  “This doesn’t make sense. Sabella hates Maurice Scallato. His brother, Bernardo Scallato, shot her in both legs while making a hit on an informant she was meeting. That’s one of the reasons I’d prefer to work with Tanner rather than Scallato.”

  “How serious were Sabella’s wounds?” Tanner asked.

  “She was out for nearly a year before returning to work and could have easily retired or taken a desk job. Instead, Sabella came back to work.”

  “When did all that happen, say about nineteen years ago?” Tanner said.

  “How did you know?”

  “Carlo Scallato told me that he believes Maurice killed his brother Bernardo.”

  “I thought Carlo Scallato was unable to communicate?”

  “He’s getting better treatment and now has periods of lucidness, but I’m told they won’t last.”

  “He might be lucid, but he’s wrong. Bernardo Scallato was killed by an Interpol agent named Lance Robear. Robear and Sabella were lovers and he followed her to the meeting with her informant. When Bernardo shot Sabella, Lance must have snuck up on him and shot him. It’s believed that Lance was later killed by Maurice Scallato, which is one reason why Sabella despises the man.”

  “What evidence is there that Robear killed Bernardo?”

  “We found the gun that killed Bernardo in Robear’s apartment. Afterward, we assumed that Maurice Scallato had killed him in revenge, although we had no proof.”

  “Or, it was planted by Scallato, and Robear and Sabella were never lovers. Carlo knows his son and he’s convinced that Scallato killed his own brother. Sabella and Scallato then made Robear take the heat for Bernardo’s murder.”

  Durand looked down at the floor, when he looked up, he made
a face of disgust.

  “It was odd at the time, Sabella claiming that she and Robear were lovers. I had thought she hated the man for getting a promotion she deserved.”

  “And after he died, and she returned to work from her injuries, what then?”

  “Her career took off, and she was soon supervising protection detail for visiting dignitaries.”

  “A perfect job for the pet cop of an international hit man,” Sara said. “There is no end to the information she could feed him. She had firsthand knowledge of the personnel of those she protected. She could also create a hole in the security whenever Scallato needed one.”

  Durand nodded, sat in a chair, then popped up again when the room service cart arrived. After passing the food around, Durand began pacing again.

  “Sabella and I met during our academy years. We were both so young and so eager to prove that we could make it as cops. Neither of us came from families that had money or influence, but we had ambition.”

  “Was Sabella much younger than you?” Tanner asked.

  He was eating steak and eggs, while Sara had only soup. Durand had declined food, as learning of his friend’s betrayal had killed his appetite. The champagne was forgotten; there was nothing to celebrate now.

  “Much younger? No,” Durand said. “Sabella is only a year younger than I am, but yes, she has aged very well.”

  Sara nudged Tanner with an elbow.

  “I told you she was old enough to be your mother.”

  “What’s this?” Durand said, and Sara explained.

  “When we met Sabella in California she threw herself at Tanner, the conniving slut.”

  “Ah yes, Sabella rarely dates men her own age.”

  “Were you two ever lovers, Durand?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything, Tanner?”

  “I want to know how loyal you are to her.”

  “Any allegiance I felt toward the woman died when I learned that she’s been aiding Scallato… but yes, we were lovers once. Our affair ended after we were assigned to different areas, many years ago.”

  Bruno spoke up with a mouthful of French fries.

  “After she got kicked out of Interpol for mandatory retirement, Maurice told her to hook up with somebody who still had connections. She was all set to join some ritzy private firm in Paris, but then you called and made her an offer, Durand.”

  Durand sent Bruno a sour look.

  “I was trying to help out an old friend. She was still vital and full of knowledge. I knew she wouldn’t be happy in retirement.”

  Bruno laughed.

  “She’d be dead in retirement. Once Maurice has no use for her, he’ll kill her.”

  “Why?” Sara asked.

  Bruno shrugged.

  “That’s Maurice, he doesn’t like loose ends, and after being with Maurice for so long, Sabella might know some things that maybe she shouldn’t.”

  “Like the fact that he’s married and has children?” Tanner said.

  Bruno nearly gagged on the soda he’d been sipping. When he spoke to Tanner, the color was draining from his face.

  “How do you know about that?”

  Tanner brought out the letter Bruno had written his sister, Maria, then passed it over to Sara.

  “I broke into the mailbox and took that. Your sister married the wrong man, Bruno.”

  Bruno ran his hands through his hair in agitation, then placed his palms together in supplication, as if he were about to pray.

  “I’m begging you, Tanner, don’t hurt my sister. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Relax, the only one I plan to harm is Scallato.”

  Bruno shook his head.

  “You’re lying. You’ll kill my nephew too. He’s a Scallato and Maurice is already training him to be a hit man. You’ll kill him just so you won’t have to look over your shoulder.”

  “How old is the kid?” Tanner said.

  Bruno was breathing heavily, as if he had just stopped running. Tanner was surprised by the moistness he glimpsed in the man’s eyes.

  “Antonio is only thirteen, and again, I’m begging you, please don’t hurt him.”

  “I won’t kill the boy, Bruno, but I’ll kill his father, and you’re going to help me do that. Afterward, you can take your sister and the kids and relocate somewhere.”

  “Maybe I’ll bring them here.”

  “That’s not a good idea. You’re burned in this city. Emilio Degussa knows about that whorehouse you’ve been running out of the nursing home. He’s not very happy that you’ve been cutting into his business and planning to push him out.”

  Bruno slammed a fist atop his knee.

  “Damn it. How did Degussa find out?”

  “I told him. So, you see, you should help us Kill Scallato. It’s your only chance. If Scallato comes out on top, he’ll still know that you talked to us and would track you down and kill you.”

  “How would Maurice know that we talked?”

  Clicking sounds came from Bruno’s left. When he looked that way, he saw that Durand was taking photos of the three of them. After a moment, Durand showed them a picture on his phone.

  “You look very cozy eating a meal with Tanner, Bruno. Perhaps I should share these photos with Sabella, I’m sure she would then forward them to Scallato.”

  “Damn it, Tanner! You got me by the balls. All right, no more games, what do you want me to do?”

  “Tell us the plan, the real plan. What is Scallato’s game?”

  “It’s not complicated. Maurice and Sabella are in Rome. They’ll spend tonight and tomorrow setting up a place for an ambush. You can be sure it will have a great line of sight leading to it, and that Maurice will know six ways to escape from it. Once they’re ready, they call me, I call Durand here, and then he would have clued you in. The thing is, I would have said that Maurice was just meeting me there to talk. When you went there before the meeting to set up a sniper’s nest, you would have walked right into a trap.”

  “Do you know where the place is?” Sara asked.

  “No, only that it’s in Rome. They’ll tell me tomorrow in time to meet that deadline you gave me. But since you’ll have to travel, the meeting will need to be arranged for the following day.”

  Tanner folded his arms and leaned back as he thought things over.

  “Trap or not, it’s too good to pass up, but even if I survive the ambush, Scallato would leave the scene. Like you said, Bruno, he’ll know six ways to escape.”

  “So how do we outsmart him?” Sara asked.

  Tanner looked at Durand, Bruno, and then Sara.

  “I say we give the man what he wants and let him kill me.”

  Durand chuckled.

  “I like that plan, Tanner, yet somehow, I doubt you’re serious.”

  “We make Scallato think that he killed me. Once he believes I’m dead, he’ll relax and return to his life in Sicily. That’s when I move in for the kill.”

  “No!” Bruno said. “My sister and her kids will be there.”

  “No, they won’t be, because Uncle Bruno will get them out of the house with some sort of ruse. You can do that, can’t you?”

  “Yeah, I guess, but I don’t really know where they live in Raguso. That’s why I sent that letter to general delivery. Maria and the kids always meet me in town when I visit, so I can’t help you find the house. I’ve never been to it.”

  Tanner gave a little laugh.

  “Scallato doesn’t trust easily, does he? How long have you known him?”

  “Since I was sixteen and he was fourteen, and no, Maurice is not the trusting sort.”

  “We’ll work it out, Bruno. What name is he going by in Raguso?”

  “Maurice Rizzo, and Maria says Maurice pretends to be a carpenter.”

  “Someone in town will know where I can find Rizzo the carpenter. Does your sister go to church?”

  “She’s a good Catholic girl, so yes.”

  “Then I’ll talk to the town’s priest; he’s bound
to know where they live.”

  “How will you fake your death?” Sara asked.

  “With help from Durand here.”

  Durand sat across from them in a chair.

  “What do you need from me?”

  “A few things, with the biggest being a body, a fresh cadaver, is that possible?”

  Durand laughed.

  “I have connections all over Europe, Tanner, very good connections, but they have limits and I… wait, maybe there is a way.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you know what a body farm is?”

  Tanner nodded.

  “It’s a place where they do research on how the human body decomposes.”

  “Correct, and I receive updates from the facilities here in Europe. Just yesterday came a memo about a new corpse being added to the body farm that is located outside Rome.”

  “That might work, but what if it’s a woman’s body, or too old, or the wrong size?”

  Durand held up a finger, as if to say, “Hold on a second.” He moved down the hallway and into the bedroom, then made a small sound of triumph. When he came back into the room, he was holding a crumbled newspaper.

  “I feared the maid had thrown this out, but fortunately, I found it still sitting atop the dresser. Look at the man in this photo. He is to be the newest cadaver.”

  Tanner saw a photo of a man in his thirties with long dark hair and a beard. The article said his name was Nicholas Nardo. Nardo swallowed poison after the police showed up at his house to arrest him as a suspect in a string of strangulation murders. Objects belonging to the victims were found in his home. His only relative, a brother, decided to donate Nardo’s corpse to the body farm, in the hope that his troubled brother would, in his words, “Be more useful in death than he was in life.”

  Durand had been fiddling with his phone while Tanner read the article, which was written in Italian. Although some words were unfamiliar to him, Tanner understood enough to explain the article to Sara.

  As Tanner passed the newspaper over to Bruno, Durand held up his phone, so that Tanner and Sara could see the screen.

  “There’s a story here that says Nicholas Nardo passed away at 9:41 p.m., which means his body will be shipped to the body farm outside Rome tomorrow. There’s scant security there, but there are cameras. Still, the body will just be lying out in the open. What do you two think?”