McNamara cast a quick glance at Wolf and winked.
“I ain’t really her daddy.”
Wolf chuckled and stood up, wondering how Mac knew these three lovelies.
McNamara turned his head toward Wolf, the grin still frozen on his face. He had three smears of red lipstick on his cheek.
The redhead gave Wolf the once-over. She was almost as tall as he was and he noticed she was wearing flats. “So who’s this young studley, Mac?”
“Who, him?” McNamara chuckled again. “This is my new partner, Steve Wolf.”
“Wolf?” she said with a laugh. “Is that his name or his disposition?”
“Both,” McNamara said. “Steve, these fine-looking young ladies are Ms. Dolly Kline, Brenda Carrera, and Yolanda Moore.” He pointed to the redhead, the Latina, and the black girl in sequence. “The three prettiest, and meanest bounty hunters in the whole state of Nevada. We worked together on a couple of cases.”
“That’s M-O-O-R-E for me, boo,” the black girl said. She smiled and Wolf saw that she had flawless white and a perfect smile.
He raised his eyebrows. “You girls are bounty hunters?”
“Well, why else would we be here, sugar?” Dolly said. She glanced at McNamara. “Good help that hard to find, Mac?”
“You’ll have to excuse him. He just got back from a hardship tour,” McNamara said. “They call themselves the P Patrol.”
“And that P don’t stand for pink, sugar,” Dolly said with a wink.
“We were going to spell out the word,” the Latina said. “But we figured that’d get the feminists on our case.”
Wolf felt a flush of embarrassment realizing what word she meant.
“Why don’t you let us buy you gals a drink?” McNamara said. “Or two.”
“Hell,” Dolly said. “Maybe even three or four. I’m gonna need all the fortification I can get to sit through that rubber-chicken dinner and see them give that award to that asshole Reno.”
McNamara stood up and snapped his fingers to attract the attention of the bartender. “Whatever these ladies are drinking,” he said. “And give us two more beers.”
Dolly ordered vodka with a lime twist. Brenda, the Latina, ordered the same, and the Yolanda asked for a chardonnay.
As they moved to a table Wolf caught a pleasant whiff of perfume and caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the right shoulder-blade of the black girl as she brushed back her cape.
“Why didn’t you call me and say you were coming?” Dolly asked.
McNamara shrugged. “It was sort of a last-minute decision. But if they were going to give the award to you, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Dolly smiled and squeezed his hand. “Same here, sweetie. Can you believe they’re giving him Bounty Hunter of the Year?”
“He probably paid somebody off,” Brenda said.
“Don’t mean shit, anyway,” Yolanda added.
They sat at a table and a waitress brought their drinks. McNamara slipped her a bill and told her to keep the change.
“That’s my boo bear,” Yolanda said. “Always generous and always a gentleman.”
McNamara smirked. “Well, not always on the latter.”
The three women snickered and Wolf wondered about their past history. Apparently, there was a lot that Mac hadn’t told him.
The conversation continued, with Dolly explaining how McNamara had helped them nail a particularly elusive and dangerous skip in Arizona and insisted on driving them back to Las Vegas to turn him over.
“And he wouldn’t even accept a portion of the money,” Dolly said. “Needless to say, we were very grateful.”
“He was such a gentleman,” Brenda said, smiling. She wore black, Versace glasses that Wolf suspected were non-prescription and just for show.
“So we treated him to dinner at the Peppermill,” Yolanda said. “And then some.”
McNamara glanced at Wolf and winked, as if to imply that wasn’t all they’d treated him to, but before Wolf could speculate on what that might be, Mac’s cell phone chirped with an incoming text and he glanced down at it.
Eyebrows rising, he looked up and said, “Damn, it’s Manny.”
He held the phone toward Wolf.
The screen said: Need to talk to you ASAP. 9-1-1.
Wolf was kind of disappointed to leave Ms. Dolly, as he’d found out she liked to be called, and her two gorgeous partners in bounty hunting, but Mac had told him that it involved a possibly lucrative new job offer. Business always overrode pleasure, Mac told him, unless the two intertwined.
“He say what it was about?” Wolf asked.
Mac shook his head. “Just that it involved a big money return.”
They met Manny and his three associates in a restaurant called The Lucky Charm just off the main floor of the casino. After Manny made the introductions, Theodore Graham, a bail bondsman from the Big Apple, and Mr. Reynolds, from some law firm, they were all seated in a secluded booth off in one corner. The lighting was low and Wolf felt like a spy in one of those old espionage movies: five men meeting in semi-lit location to discuss a mission. The two bail bondsmen looked like polar opposites of each other. Manny was huge and morbidly obese, while this new guy, Teddy, looked like a set of bones in a skin suit. The third guy, Reynolds, had a real firm handshake and a rugged look to him that didn’t quite fit with a law firm tag. Apparently, Mac didn’t think so either.
“You don’t look much like a lawyer,” he said.
“Actually, I’m not.” Reynolds flashed a quick smile. “I’m a paralegal and work for the law firm’s special investigations team.”
Wolf noticed the guy had several bandages covering the top of his right hand.
An injury? He wondered what might have caused it if the guy worked in an office.
“So what’s this all-important job you wanted to see us about?” McNamara asked.
Manny and Teddy exchanged looks. The skeleton spoke first. “We need a couple of good and dependable bounty hunters to do a job.”
“That so?” McNamara said. “Where? New York?”
“No. Mexico.”
“Mexico?” Mac squinted. “That’s like dancing with the devil down there.”
The two bail bondsmen exchanged another set of glances.
“I heard you were the men for the job,” Teddy said.
“Who’d you hear that from?” Mac asked.
Wolf was content to let him do the talking, but the more he heard about this deal, the less he liked it.
“From Manny here,” Teddy said. “He speaks very highly of you.”
McNamara glanced over at the heavyset bail bondsman and frowned.
“I’ll bet he does.”
Manny shrugged and flashed a shifty looking half-grin.
“They play by a whole different set of rules down south of the border,” McNamara said.
“Look, I know it’s dangerous,” Teddy said. “But Manny says you guys are the ones for the job.”
McNamara smirked and looked at Manny. “That so? What about Reno? We saw you talking to him.”
Manny’s mouth gaped in what might have passed for a self-deprecating smile.
“Well, yeah. I did talk to him and Herc, but it got back to me that he wasn’t too crazy about going down there.”
“And my associates at the law firm expressed some reservations about those two as well,” Reynolds added.
“Who are these associates?” Mac asked. It was evident that he was a bit leery of this new guy, and Teddy as well. “And why ain’t we talking to the top man?”
“Mr. Fallotti’s in New York,” Reynolds said. He handed over a card that said, Fallotti and Abraham Attorneys at Law. “Due to the nature of this transaction, he wishes to add a bit of circumspection to the negotiation process.”
That did sound a little bit like legalese to Wolf’s ear, but he still had an uneasy feeling.
“Look,” Teddy said. “These guys are some heavy hitters outta New York. I can assure you. F
lew me out here on a private jet, limo service to the hotel. All first class.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. “They got bucks. Big bucks.”
“Okay,” Mac said. “Talk. We’re listening.”
Teddy and Reynolds took over, giving them the tale about Accondras skipping on bail and being due back in court in Manhattan in eight days.
“The recovery percentage of the bond is ten percent of one hundred thousand,” Teddy said. “It’s all yours.”
“And the family of the victim is substantially well off,” Reynolds said. “They’ll be offering a bonus of twenty-five thousand in addition to the bond recovery fee.”
The amount shocked Wolf, but he showed no reaction.
“That’s a lot of money,” McNamara said. “But it seems like you’re in a pretty big hurry, too.”
“Christ, yeah,” Teddy said. “The fucker’s due in court next week.”
“And we also intend to serve Accondras with a civil subpoena regarding a lawsuit at that time,” Reynolds said. “There’s a time constraint on filing that.”
“So you know for sure where this shitbird is down in Mexico,” Mac said.
“We do,” Reynolds said. “We hired a private detective who’s located him.”
“And all we have to do is grab him and bring him back?” Mac continued.
“Grab him and bring him to this location,” Reynolds said. He spread a map on the tabletop. “We’ve engaged the services of a private pilot to meet you there and transport the defendant back to the States.”
“Who’s this pilot?” McNamara asked.
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Reynolds said. “But you won’t have to accompany him. Your only responsibility will be to do the drop. We’ll arrange separate, commercial transportation to Mexico and back for you and Mr. Wolf.”
McNamara stared at the man. “So if we accept, when do we get paid?”
“Immediately,” Reynolds said. “Accept the job now and we’ll be glad to deposit half of the agreed upon amount in your bank account before you leave, as well giving you a credit card and expense money for down there. Then you’ll be paid the rest upon completion of the delivery. On scene, if you prefer.”
“Hey, these guys are legit,” Teddy said. “Like I said. First class all the way.”
“Yeah.” Manny nodded in affirmation. “They already took care of me for setting the meeting up.”
McNamara squinted at him. “For which one? This one or when you introduced them to Reno?”
Manny’s head jerked back like he’d been slapped.
“Hey, Mac—”
“Don’t bother denying it,” McNamara said. “He was your first choice, wasn’t he?”
Manny blew out a slow breath. “Look, that was …” His voice trailed off and he shrugged. “Well, after all, he is Bounty Hunter of the Year. They heard of him, is all.”
“Yeah,” Teddy said. “And like was we told ya, he was kind of wishy-washy about going down to Mexico.”
“You saying he turned it down?” Mac asked. “Or that he wanted more money?”
“Let’s just say,” Reynolds said, breaking into the conversation. “That he seemed a bit squeamish. Additionally, my firm was less than satisfied with Mr. Garth’s qualifications and requested to interview someone whom Mr. Sutter felt would be more qualified.”
“Right,” Manny said. “I mean, your boy here speaks Mexican, don’t he?”
Wolf felt his hackles rise when he heard the pejorative.
“It’s Spanish, not Mexican,” McNamara said. “And he’s nobody’s boy.” He glanced at Wolf and slid out of the booth.
“We’ll discuss it and get back to you,” he said.
“I’m afraid that won’t do,” Reynolds said. “We have certain things set in motion already. We need a definite commitment now.”
“You’ll get out answer shortly,” McNamara said.
He stood up and motioned for Wolf to join him.
Wolf slid out of the booth as well, and the two of them walked toward the restrooms.
“Well, what do you think?” McNamara asked when they were out of earshot of the others.
“I don’t know, Mac. Sounds a little bit hinkey to me.”
“Hinkey? What’s that mean?”
Wolf shrugged. “Like we’re not getting the whole story. I’m just wondering what’s being left out.”
“Yeah, me too.” McNamara’s mouth worked, then the muscles of his jaw tightened. “But this would be a good chance to show up that damn Reno. Especially if word gets around that he turned it down because he was scared. Bounty Hunter of the Year, my ass.”
Wolf was worried that Mac was letting his dislike of Reno override his better judgment.
“What about all that stuff you mentioned about going south of the border?” Wolf asked. “The dangers?”
A smile cracked McNamara’s face. “Hell, I know all about stepping over them borders to get the job done. You do, too, I expect.”
“Yeah. But—”
“You do it once, it gets easier after that. We just got to be careful, is all. This won’t be the first rodeo for either of us.”
Wolf was still feeling uneasy.
“What about weapons? Didn’t you once say that if they catch you with a gun down there, they lock you up and throw away the key?”
“Until somebody can grease the right palms.”
“So we won’t be able to take any firepower with us?”
“True, but we get enough money for expenses from this Reynolds guy maybe we can buy whatever we need when we get down there.” He grinned. “We just can’t afford to get caught. Besides, this is a chance to make some real money, and to show Reno who the real Bounty Hunter of the Year is. Those two still owe me for a shirt, a seat belt, a tire, and a pinch.”
“I don’t know about this, Mac.”
“Well, the recovery percentage of the bond is ten percent of one hundred thousand. That’s ten thousand bucks in case your math’s not working.” McNamara clucked his tongue. “Plus, there’s that special bonus of twenty-five grand being offered by the family. Thirty-five large split two ways, right down the middle, for a couple of days work. That’s seventeen-five for each of us.”
Wolf didn’t feel right about the fifty-fifty split.
“Look, I appreciate the offer,” he said. “But you should take more than—”
“You’ll be taking the same risks I will. Plus, you speak Spanish. You do this and we’ll call it even between us.” He laughed. “And this way you’ll have some money and I’ll be able to start charging you rent.”
Wolf was touched by his friend’s generosity. How could he let him down?
“That is a lot of money for a quick trip down to Mexico,” he said.
“Damn straight,” McNamara said. He focused his eyes on Wolf’s face. “Well, whaddaya think?”
Wolf still had a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something about this whole thing bothered him. But then again, he’d been on a lot of missions where the risks were greater. Much greater. So had Mac. Plus, he owed this man more than he could ever repay, and he sensed this was one that Mac really wanted.
“I say, let’s go south of the border,” Wolf said. “Down Mexico way.”
McNamara smiled. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say. I wasn’t relishing the thought of going down there all by my lonesome.”
Eagan watched Cummins as the fat lawyer made the final arrangements to have the advance money deposited in McNamara’s bank account.
Trackdown, Incorporated … An interesting and appropriate name for a bail bond enforcement agency. He still wondered how Wolf had gotten hooked up with this place so quickly after getting out of Leavenworth, though. Eagan had figured the dumb Indian would go back to the Rez, or whatever other pathetic place he came from, and drown himself in booze contemplating his pathetic little life. Or what was left of it. The piece of shit had turned out to be way more resilient than anticipated. Maybe Victor Delta was right in wa
nting that loose end tidied up. And now that particular avenue had suddenly opened up for him. It should be worth a bonus.
His cell phone buzzed with a text. It was Reynolds.
All set. Monies deposited. Instructions given.
Their departure?
As specified. Anything else?
Negative, Eagan texted back. Come back up here but don’t let anyone follow you. Bring Teddy.
Everything was set in motion now. Wolf and his buddy would be off to Mexico the day after tomorrow, and Accondras would hopefully be delivered within a few days. Then it was a simple matter of extracting the location of the artifact from him and that shouldn’t be very problematic at all.
In fact, Eagan thought, it might even be pleasurable.
He enjoyed breaking people, using enough pain to ensure that the desired information was obtained and verified while the subject was still breathing. Back in Iraq Wolf’s sudden intrusion four years ago had messed up the synchronization. If he hadn’t barged in, Eagan was certain that he and Nasim could have gotten the location of the other half of the artifact right then and there.
But instead it had turned into a cluster-fuck.
But no matter, he thought. Everything comes to he who waits.
And now this whole quest had turned into something even more lucrative. Something that he wouldn’t have to split with the late Stu Novak.
A knock at the door jarred Eagan out of his reverie. He went over and opened it and saw Reynolds and Teddy standing there.
Reynolds nodded to him as they entered, reaffirming the instructions given in the text.
“Go back to your room and pack up,” Eagan said. “We’re getting out of here.”
Reynolds nodded and turned to leave.
“Outta here?” Teddy said. “Why? We got it all set up, just like you wanted.”
Eagan put his arm around the other man’s shoulders and walked him over to the wet bar on the side of the suite. The guy felt so frail Eagan knew he could probably kill him with one blow. Maybe two, if the son of a bitch was stubborn or tougher than he looked.
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