“Don’t lie. People saw you talking to him.”
“I wasn’t at the party for long, fifteen minutes tops. We didn’t talk about you, Ed. He wanted his son’s body, and that was it.”
“Bull.” Ed’s in his usual dictatorial role, prodding me with his damn baton.
“It’s not bull. You should’ve told me who Trevor was when you pocketed his wallet. You knew he was Nick’s son.”
“Not my problem, Dylan.”
“Nothing’s your problem. You don’t care about my dad or me. Just yourself.”
“Is this why I’m here? You wanna fight about the cash from the bar? Keep it. Go ‘head. We’ll see how long you can run this place without me. Within a week you’ll be paying a gang for the same thing. Then what? They’ll ask for more next month and the month after that. You can say goodbye to your business within a year.”
I flick my cigarette past his head. “You here alone or is Kevin with you? Where’s your Tahoe?”
“Who gives a shit? Jesus, Dylan, I thought you had some life-or-death emergency and needed to talk in private. You want me to call him back here so you can rag on the two of us? Spit it out. What do you want?” He swings the baton at his side. “This better not be another sobbing appeal for that note.”
I wipe my nose, eager for this to be over. All I have to do is pull the trigger. That’s it. Shoot and run. I have to do it.
I draw the Glock and raise it between his eyes.
“Seriously?” He laughs. “You little punk.”
“Get down on your knees, Ed.”
He laughs harder.
I rack the slide. My voice lowers in pitch. “Get. Down.”
He puts the baton in his belt and widens his stance. “Did your wench put you up to this?”
“Shut up.” I wave the gun at his face. “Tell me where you were that night.”
“What night?”
“The night Jake died. You went to the Andersons’ house in the morning, but you weren’t at the river. Why? Why didn’t you come and help the cops and the rescue team? Where the hell were you?”
“Working, I can’t be everywhere at once.”
“No. Sean called you after we left the party. I called you after Jake fell through the ice. What was more important than him?” I take a step closer. He sees the rage in my eyes. He gets it. This is real. “Answer me, Ed.” I press the muzzle to his forehead. “Don’t even think about knocking the gun away. Just answer me.”
“Which one is on to me? Is it Nick, or Autumn?”
“I’m on to you.”
“Dylan, you’re not bright enough to figure any of this out on your own.”
My palms slam his chest. He stumbles backward and twists his ankle in a pothole. “Enough.” He raises his hands. “Don’t make me kill you.” He glares up at me, slowly placing his hand on his gun as he regains his footing. “Where’d you get that gun?” He nods at it. “Does your dad know you have it?”
“Do the cops in your department know all the drug busts you run are a scam? Do they know you get a payout from the drug lord in the district to get rid of the small-time dealers?”
He grins and grips his gun.
“Better not,” I say, keeping the gun pointed at his head. “You know, Ed … you know what I think happened that night?”
“What’s that, Dylan?” He slides his gun up an inch.
“I think a big supply came in, and I think you had to patrol the area to make sure no cops or anyone else made off with the shipment. And I think that was more important to you than Jake.”
“Or maybe I picked up a hooker, or I was at Tim Horton’s getting a coffee, or beating my meat in my Tahoe. Or maybe I was doing my fucking job!” He pulls out his gun and aims it at my chest. “Are we doing this? Are we really doing this? Because you won’t be the one who’s left standing. Face it. Your back is against the wall. I’ll bury you like Jake got buried in that icy riv—”
I fire the gun before he can finish. It echoes through the alley. My ears ring and the shot sends Ed to his knees. He drops his gun and collapses face-first. Red lights flash on the street as I kick his gun away. Kevin calls out to Ed, sending the Tahoe in reverse and shining the headlights down the alley. “Ed!” he shouts. We’re too far in for him to see us. He steps out, pulling his gun, taking a stealthy walk along the alley wall toward us.
“Sorry, Dylan,” Autumn whispers behind me.
“What?” I turn to the opposite end of the alley. “Why are you here? You’re supposed to be waiting for me at your loft.” She’s a shadow in the darkness. “Take off before Kevin gets back here. I’ll meet up with you later.”
A second shot rings out. My body jerks back and drops next to Ed’s. My vision turns dark even though my eyes remain open. Ed, the buildings, the sight of her as she approaches, all turn to black. I see only the sleeve of her burgundy coat as she sets her hand on my chest, sharing a sorrowful goodbye.
She knows. Autumn knows my suffering over Heather won’t disappear with time. The only way to stop my relentless thoughts from that night will be to read her last words. I told her what Nick had to offer for killing Ed, and what the compensation would be. Not cash, just words. A note.
Autumn’s hand slips away, her strawberry scent vanishes with it. I want to tell her to be careful, tell her how much she means to me, and thank her for putting me out of my misery. But I can’t speak. Not a word. Not a breath. Nothing. I may never see her again, and I can’t open my mouth to tell her these things.
“Stop, police officer. Stop!” Kevin shouts. “Put your hands up where I can see ’em. Hands up!”
She steals Ed’s cell phone and scurries away. I hear a car drive up and stop at the end of the alley. The door opens and closes, the engine revs, then the car drives off behind the buildings. Gone. Like she was just a snippet of a short dream, Autumn is gone.
Ice water soaks through my clothing. I take a painful breath, feeling a constriction in whatever’s left of my heart. It’s the coldest I’ve ever been.
One minute, no movement for a minute.
Kevin heads through the slop in our direction. I turn my head slightly toward Ed.
I’m sick to death about what I’m about to go through, but everything is to free me from the past. I need to move on because it’s not just about me anymore. I have a new motivation. Autumn. She’s my focus. When our plan was finalized, she said, “You have my heart. Now let’s set yours free.”
That’s compassion.
I get on my knees and crawl over to Ed. “We pulled it off.” I turn him over. “Nick didn’t realize it was all an act. He didn’t check if we were dead before driving off with Autumn.”
“I wasn’t acting,” Ed says.
“You’re such a bastard.” I stand and kick slush in his face. “I should’ve shot you for real when you started talking about Jake. Why’d you have to harass me again?”
“I didn’t know we had a script.” He pushes off the ground and stands. “It’s the truth anyway.”
“How do you know?” My anger gnaws. “Were you there? Were those your headlights Jake saw?”
“You know what I was up to that night. You already said it.”
“God, I’m so done with you. Give it to me! Now, Ed. Now!”
“I heard you.” He reaches into his coat pocket.
“You’ve never heard me.”
He shakes his head. “You shouldn’t read this note.”
“Don’t break the deal, or I will shoot you.” I shove him again. “You kept her note from me because you didn’t want people to know what I was doing that night. It connects to you. You wanted to protect yourself. I bet she wrote about the party.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“Give me that copy. That was the deal for letting you walk free.” I reach for his pocket, but he forces my hand away. My teeth gnash. “I want that copy of Heather’s note. We’re done talking. No more extortion of the bar, or snitch jobs, or any other shit.
You mess this up, and Autumn turns over the surveillance video she has of you. It’s your vehicle, your license plate, you.” I poke his chest. “It’s you getting a payout from that dealer, and she has photos of you escorting the truck from the last two shipments. You, Ed. You.”
“I warned you to stay away from her!”
“Now!” My hand lifts, demanding the note.
He holds the folded slip of paper in the air and lets it drop in the puddle next to my feet, stepping on it as he heads out of the alley. “Make sure you get my phone back from Autumn.” He pats my back.
I grab the paper and shake the water away.
“Did it work?” Kevin asks. “You guys fool ‘em or what?”
I sprint past them and out of the alley, carrying the note to my truck like it’s a live grenade, straining to keep it safe in my arms. Scared stiff, I lock my truck after getting inside, looking all around as if someone’s going to snatch her words away.
This is it. Either my life will end after I read it, or at last, it will begin again.
27
What Joel said to Lona during their fight was true. Heather’s note is cryptic. Wild scribbles.
I study it on my way to the Andersons’ while listening to the conversation between Nick and Autumn via FaceTime. Lost between two women, Heather’s words have wounded me, and Autumn alone with Nick makes me anxious. The only thing that’s reassuring about the present situation is what Autumn said to me earlier today … Wise women plot and plan. Cocky men like Nick gamble.
And Autumn did just that—she plotted and planned. We needed two phones for me to eavesdrop, so she had Ed and me set up a call before he arrived in the alley. Then Autumn pocketed his cell, knowing Nick would take hers. I’m connected and able to hear their voices, but can’t see what’s happening inside Nick’s car.
“They’re dead,” Autumn tells him.
“I saw,” he says. “But I still want to hear what was said. Play it back for me.”
She plays back the last five minutes in the alley, starting when Ed asked where I got the gun. Autumn also saw this coming. She said Nick would ask her at the last minute to record us on her cell, believing the unexpected request would limit any chance of us conspiring against him. Predictable in these situations, he’d want to be sure Ed and I had an actual conversation, that it wasn’t all a scheme. Fortunately, she was one step ahead of him.
“I knew that kid couldn’t keep his trap shut. He didn’t last a day without telling you I wanted Dorazio dead,” Nick complains. “Betrayal like his always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. At least he was easy to take out after he served his purpose.”
“Hey, what’re you doing?” Autumn says.
“Your cell and Walther are going in the glove box.”
The compartment opens and clicks shut.
“Gee, Nick. Think you got enough coke in there?” Autumn says sarcastically. “I remember you used to snort it before we made out, back when you were desperate to take my virginity.”
“Desperate?” He chuckles. “Right. You were crazy for me. It didn’t take long.”
“Smitten by your position,” she corrects. “You said you’d be my fast track to a higher rank in the force.” There’s dead air for a minute. Then Autumn breaks the silence. “You know, I really liked Dylan.”
“What’d he have to offer? Free beer from that slummy bar of his?”
“He was human.”
“Human?” Nick pauses, perhaps unable to come up with a good response.
He knows she’s closing in on the drug ring in District D. He knows that among all the cops, Dorazio is the one working for the main dealer. Nick knows because he put Ed there. That’s what Autumn figured out. Nick Faulkner gets his coke from the chief drug lord in the city. And he hired Ed to help watch over the shipments coming in, to cut out the competition, and to bring him his supply.
“Dorazio had to go,” Nick says. “I don’t need an unflattering police corruption story unfolding during the next election. And that kid you liked knew way too much.”
He feigns innocence, as if Ed is some random unknown cop not connected to him. But Autumn’s seen the exchanges in Nick’s office. She has photos. She’s watched them through her telescope—Ed dropping off drugs and picking up cash behind closed doors.
“Human?” Nick repeats, still mulling over what she said.
“Dylan was also a man,” Autumn adds.
“Oh, human and a man. Special guy. Don’t fret; more men are out there. Better ones. Older and wiser ones.”
“Yeah, that’s encouraging.” She lights a cigarette. The window opens. “Can I smoke in here?” she asks after the fact.
“Is that your last request?”
Last request. I’m not surprised. Everyone connected to Nick’s supplier and that drug ring will be taken out.
“I asked if that was your last request.”
“I heard you, and I doubt you’ll kill me just because I know you put a hit on Dorazio. And so what if I figured out he was a dirty cop? No one will care anymore now that he’s dead.”
Except for Nick, he cares because the guy Ed was protecting leads right back to him. Just like my night at the river leads back to Ed. Although it’s not as easy to remove her as it is to erase Dorazio and me. Nick won’t grab her gun and shoot the police commissioner’s daughter in his car. Someone else will do it. Autumn knows that. And she knows she has only a small window to finish this.
“What’s your angle, Autumn? I can sense something’s going on here. You’re not invincible, you know.”
“And you think you are?”
“Oh, right. I’m the mayor and you’re a kid who couldn’t last six months on the force. I think I’m safe.”
“A woman, not a kid,” she says. “And to answer your question, my angle tonight is to go home and start over. Dump Dorazio’s files in my trash and start a new case.” She exhales a long breath. The window closes. “You wanted Trevor to disappear before he became a disgrace and ruined your chances of being re-elected. You wanted Dorazio gone for the same reasons. No scandals in the city. No investigations. Just silence. You want everything swept under the rug so everyone believes there’s no better man for the job. You got it. Good for you, Nick. Your city is perfect. And not a soul has caught on that you’re a cokehead … except for me.”
“Casual user.”
“That’s laughable.”
“Is it?”
“Honestly, just forget it. Forget about all of it. I don’t care anymore. Take me to my car so I can go home and disappear for a while. You ruined my chances of building any credibility to get my business up and running. Now I have to start over from scratch.”
“Ah. See, you do care.”
“Yeah, about my career.”
“Come off it. You’re upset I had you kill Dylan so Farren could keep his job. You’re upset I have that leverage.”
The distance from her dad was intentional, specifically for this case. She thought her dad would take it over and assign other people to it, pushing her aside. That’s what she was talking about in the tub, wanting recognition, credit for doing this on her own. Plus, it’s a screw you to the cops for harassing her for being a woman.
“You want to fire my dad for no reason,” Autumn says.
“My city could use a new police commissioner.”
“Go ahead and do it, Nick. Then I’ll be sure to tell the press how much my virginity was worth.”
“You have no proof of that.”
She sighs. The window opens and shuts like she’s playing with the controls.
“How much information do you have on Dorazio?” he asks.
“If I had sufficient amount, he’d be under arrest. It’s irrelevant anyway. Ed’s dead. Dylan’s dead. I think we’re even. Leave my dad alone, and I’ll keep quiet about our past and all the coke you snort.”
He releases a callous laugh. “People are never even. That’s wishful thinking on y
our part. I could fire Farren tomorrow if you stop doing as I say.”
The car’s blinker chinks.
“I parked in the back lot,” she tells him. The car slows. Autumn exhales forcefully. “Not here, Nick.”
“You can walk from my garage. I don’t want to be seen dropping you off.”
“Is your wife here?” she asks.
“She’s at her sister’s place. Why? You wanna have a threesome?” He laughs. “I can call her. We can’t do it in the garage though. Trevor’s body is still down here. Even I have my limits.”
“No.” Her voice trembles. “Why is Gage down here?”
“He’ll take it from here, Autumn.”
“Wait.”
“Too late.”
The call is unclear while she shifts in the seat. “Nick, rethink this. I could have you arrested for murdering Trevor. Tell me how you’ll explain his body being here if the cops show up?”
He laughs. “After you’re dead, somehow, you’ll magically have me arrested?”
“Yes, for putting a hit on Trevor, and for felony distribution and possession.”
“Hold up, what?”
“I have photos of you exchanging coke for sex with women.”
“Gage!” A window opens. “You’re dead, Autumn. No one knows about that. No one!” He unbuckles his seat belt, hollering again for Gage. “Kill her and put her in a grave with Trevor. Then go to her loft and wipe it clean. Computers, phones, files, everything!”
“Put it down!” A powerful voice echoes in the background. Autumn pulls Ed’s cell out of her pocket, removing me from the darkness so I can see what’s happening in the garage.
“Lower that gun,” someone shouts from outside. “Drop your weapon!”
“Get down!” a second voice shouts. “Down on the ground!”
Multiple shots fire out. A bullet enters Gage’s chest. A second one strikes his forehead, sending him to the ground in a heap.
Nick glares out the back window. “DEA? Son of a bitch!” He slams Autumn’s head into the dash and grabs her Walther from the glove box. Shots ring out, shattering the car’s windows.
“The mayor’s hit.” The garage is rocked with an uproar. “He’s down! We got him.”
The Lost Night Page 24