Bullet Work (24 page)

“I just think you need to talk to her, Dan.
She’s such a sweet girl, and you can work things out,” she
said.

Should I tell her about
Beth? What’s to tell?
The idea of another woman in his life
might suspend this line of questioning or at least divert it, but
what did he have to tell?
I met a girl?
That would set her off in a whole new direction.
No, can’t go there.

“Mom, we talk. It isn’t going to work. I’ve
told you that. We’re both okay with it.” He stood and turned his
back to the phone, twirling the cord with his fingers.

“But have you tried? Really tried? It’s not
too late.”

“Mom, we’ve been all through this. I know you
care about her.”

“I care about
you
.
She was so good for you.”

“She’s a great gal.”
Gal?
Wow, where did that come from
? “Mom, she’s great. We’re
still friends.”

“Friends? Danny, honestly.”

“She really likes you, Mom, and you guys can
still be friends.” He wanted to say “No one died here” but bit his
tongue. “Heck, maybe better friends. You can compare notes on me
like usual.” He chuckled, but the humor didn’t translate. “I still
love her, but it’s not right. She’ll be happier, and so will
I.”

“I just think—”

“Mom, I’ve got to go. Really. I’m kinda busy
here. I’ll see you Thursday for dinner. Thanks for all the help.
Love you.”

Chapter 44

aJ was waiting at his regular spot
when Dan pulled up. With the exception of the run-in with Romeo and
his bandits, Dan and AJ had fallen into a steady routine at the end
of the work day. Tonight would be different.

“AJ, we’re going on a little mission
tonight.”

“What for?”

“We’re going to do what you suggested. We’re
going to watch what they do, not listen to what they say. But
first, we’re going to get something to eat—then we’ll come back
here.”

After eating, they parked just outside the
main drive of Fairfax Park. They waited for Skelton’s white pickup
truck. At ten minutes after eight, the pickup rolled out of the
parking lot and headed north. Dan pulled in behind.

He’d never tailed anyone before, so his
knowledge base was what he had learned in movies and on TV. Dan put
two cars between his and Skelton’s truck and hoped he wouldn’t get
left behind by a changing traffic signal.

Luckily, Skelton merged onto Interstate 66,
headed toward D.C. Dan stayed well back from him in an adjoining
lane. After about fifteen minutes he moved to the right-hand lane
and got off at Highway 7100, headed north. Dan followed at a safe
distance until Skelton’s truck reached a red light.

As they approached, Dan had AJ duck down in
the passenger seat. Skelton might not even look back in the
rearview mirror, but if he did, there was a better chance he’d
recognize AJ than Dan. They waited for the green light.

Skelton pulled away and traveled about three
miles before turning right off the highway. They followed as he
entered an apartment complex. Skelton drove around to the backside
of the complex, parked, got out of the vehicle, and entered the
apartment building. Dan backed into a parking stall, and they
waited.

Dan wasn’t sure what they were going to do
next. Skelton probably lived here, but one thing was for sure; he
hadn’t made a drop with the money. Things were starting to come
together.

Just then Skelton came out of the building.
He had changed clothes and was wearing a blue baseball cap. He
walked over to his pickup but didn’t get in. Instead, he got into a
dark colored Camry and drove off. Maybe he was going to make a
drop, but why change clothes and cars?

Skelton got back onto 7100 and continued
north. He merged onto the toll road toward Dulles Airport. He
stopped to pay the toll, and rather than taking the chance of
flying by him by using his easy pass, Dan stopped and paid the
toll.

The toll taker gave him a confused look,
apparently wondering why the guy would pay cash for the toll with
an easy pass device on the windshield. Just past Dulles Airport
they encountered another toll station. Skelton continued
westward.

After a few more miles he exited onto Route 7
past Leesburg, Virginia, and into the countryside. Dan was becoming
concerned because the farther they went, the fewer cars there were
on the roads. It would become easier to notice Dan was tailing him,
especially as he headed west on this two-lane highway.

Dan gave him some extra distance; in fact, he
stayed back far enough that he could barely see Skelton’s tail
lights as he continued west into rural Virginia.

Several miles past Leesburg, Skelton turned
right onto a two-lane highway, proudly proclaimed to be the Berlin
Turnpike. Despite the austere name, it was a pitted asphalt road
that veered left and right through dark and heavily forested woods.
They crept along at a top speed of maybe twenty miles per hour.

If he was making the drop, they wouldn’t see
it. Then again, if Skelton made the drop, he would head back toward
his apartment. Dan had come to believe there was no drop or at
least none currently. They were watching what he was doing, not
listening to what he said.

They continued north through the towns of
Hampton Bridge and Wheatland. The scenery had changed from
high-rise apartments and eight-lane roads to small subdivisions and
four-lane highways to complete rural stretches along this two-lane
blacktop road, with an occasional small town along the way. Homes
or farmhouses were tucked back into the woods, barely discernable
from the roadway as they crept along.

The twists and turns in the road diminished
their speed further, and visibility was limited. After about two
miles Dan lost the tail lights of Skelton’s vehicle.

He slowed down and looked for any sign of
light. As they curved left around a bend, he spotted two tail
lights moving away from the highway. Dan pulled past the
intersection where Skelton had turned and drove up about another
quarter mile. He executed a perfect boot leg turn on the roadway
and headed back to the intersection.

It appeared to be a driveway rather than a
road. Five mailboxes along the roadside indicated it was probably a
shared driveway for several parcels of land. Dan pulled up about
one hundred yards past the intersection and entered a side road. He
stopped the vehicle and turned off the lights. AJ looked at him
curiously.

“I’m going back to take a look. Here’s my
cell phone. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, I want you to call
Jake and tell him where you are.”

“I don’t know where I am.”

“You’re on the Berlin Turnpike about two
miles north of Wheatland,” Dan said. AJ nodded. Dan showed him
Jake’s number on the cell phone, so he could press a button to
dial, if needed.

“And here’s the most important thing,” Dan
continued. “Do not get out of this car. I don’t care what
happens—you don’t get out of this car unless I’m here or Jake is
here. Don’t trust anyone. Do you understand?”

The boy nodded again.

Chapter 45

skelton drove past the barn on the
left and pulled the car up on the far side of the house. A faint
light came from the small clapboard cottage. Tucked away under two
massive oak trees, the structure showed the wear that came with a
decade of forgotten maintenance. Curled paint chips were visible
hugging the window frames. The fencing around the front porch was a
mouth missing several teeth. A woman’s touch had not been present
for ages. It was a guy’s cabin, a hangout, not a home.

Skelton grabbed the package on the passenger
seat and walked up on the wooden front landing. He glanced through
the window and saw the man in the cowboy hat standing near the back
of the main room. He turned the copper knob on the front door and
entered the house.

“What was the take?” said Belker.

“Almost twenty grand.” He threw the package
on the kitchen table. Belker picked it up and began sorting through
the bills.

“Who’d we get new?”

“Creighton, Keating, and Price, finally,”
Hank said as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out one of the
beers remaining from the twelve pack.

“I knew Creighton would see the light.”

“Yeah, I guess it helped when you blew the
brains out of his best horse. What’s up with that?”

Belker laughed. “Some people just need to see
the light.”

Skelton didn’t join him in the laughter.
“That was stupid. We don’t need that kind of violence. For Christ
sakes, you could have killed someone. Ever think of that?”

“What, you’re getting all soft on me? You
have no problem plugging a horse with poison, but you get all weepy
about shooting one? Don’t get all righteous on me.”

“We were making good progress with what we’d
done. Didn’t need to escalate it like that,” Skelton said.

“Nearly pinned it on that stupid kid,” Belker
said, chuckling to himself. “Actually glad they let him go. It
could have cost us a bunch of money if we had to stop before the
end of the meet.”

“It’s gotta stop, Tim. No need to hurt more
animals. We’ve made our point, and the money is rolling in each
week. I think we need to lay low for a while.”

“Damn, you are going soft on me. We’ve got
half a dozen barns holding out on us. Now’s the time to ramp up,
not slow down. Those punks owe us a bunch of money from the start
of the meet. I’ve got a plan for this week. You leave it to me
now.”

“This is getting crazy. We were just supposed
to get the money flowing and—” Belker held his hand up at Skelton
and rushed over to the window.

“Anybody follow you?”

“No way.”

Belker pulled back the tattered red,
checkerboard drape and looked outside. “Sure as hell did.” He ran
to the back door, pulled his gun off the kitchen counter, and
disappeared outside.

  

Dan slid the heavy barn door open and peered
inside. Four stalls lined the right side of the barn. The left side
was open, containing feed, implements, and a rusted wheelbarrow.
The barn felt cavernous, with hay bales strewn in one corner. A
frail wooden stairway led up to several pieces of plywood laid on
top of 2
”
by 8
”
rafters, a makeshift second story.

A horse’s head poked out the stall door and
looked at him as it rustled the straw in the bedding. It had to be
Exigent Lady. He pulled the door to close it and crept along the
side of the barn to get a view of the house.

The Camry was parked on the side behind a
Jeep Wrangler. Lights were on inside the house, and Dan could see a
man with a baseball cap with his back to him. He couldn’t tell
whether it was Skelton, but it had to be. He stayed in the shadow
of the barn and moved to his right to get a better look. He was
going to have to get closer to the house.

Dan moved to the right to get out of view of
the window and snuck up near the back of the Camry. If he could ID
the man as Skelton, he could call the cops and get them out here
before they could move the horse. That better be Exigent Lady in
the barn, he thought, or he’d look like an imbecile bringing the
authorities out. All he could prove is that Skelton went for a
drive, hardly enough for the cavalry to be brought in. Dan had to
get a look in the front window. Dan stepped from behind the Camry
to get onto the porch.

“Hold it right there.”

Dan looked in the direction of the voice, and
Tim Belker had a gun trained on him.

“Who the fuck are you?” he said. Then he
caught a better view from the light coming through the front
window. “You’re that lawyer who bailed out that kid. Get inside.”
He waved the gun, indicating Dan should move onto the porch.

He followed Dan onto the landing and into the
house. Skelton spun around and recognized him. “What the—”

“Yeah, nobody followed you,” said Belker.
“Sit down over there.”

“That’s one of Gilmore’s owners,” Skelton
said.

“Let’s have your wallet,” Belker said. He
grabbed it from him and pulled out his driver’s license.

“Daniel Morgan,” Belker said. He threw the
wallet on the table. “Dan and I are pals, aren’t we, Dan?”

Dan ignored him as he studied the interior of
the house for escape routes. Scarred wood framed furniture adorned
the living room, with a solid dining room table and six chairs.
Clearly, early trailer court was the motif the designer sought. On
the right a darkened hallway led to what presumably was a bedroom
and bathroom. A solitary beer can was perched on the dining room
table alongside what appeared to be a stack of cash.

“Dan called me a couple of days ago,” Belker
said. “Wanted to know how he could help out with the investigation.
Well, Dan, you’re going to be more helpful in closing this
investigation than you ever imagined.” He turned toward Skelton.
“Find something and tie him up.”

Skelton started rummaging through the kitchen
drawers.

“You’re not going to get away with this. I’ve
got people on the way,” Dan said.

Belker stared at Dan, as though pondering his
next move. He wagged the gun at him with a steady beat. “Well,
they’ll get here just in time.”

Dan heard the tear and recognized the sound
as Skelton turned with a roll of duct tape.

“Nice work, Skelton,” Dan said. “Kidnap your
own horse. May have fooled some people with that.” Hank pushed him
forward and started taping his wrists together. “You make me sick,
Skelton. Killing horses. I can understand him.” Dan nodded toward
Belker. “What the hell’s the matter with you?” Skelton didn’t say
anything, just kept taping.

“You know, I’m getting a little tired of
you,” Belker said. “But it doesn’t matter. They’re going to find
you with a dead horse, and this investigation will all be tied up.”
He laughed. “So to speak.”