I
t
took thirty minutes to drive to Eddie’s and pick up the new car and ID’s. The 300 was, as Eddy had said, fast and nondescript. It was Monday and I had been out of prison for four days. Already I had killed two guys and almost two more. I felt myself getting into the swing of things. I was eighteen years old when I went to prison and now, at thirty-three, I felt like forty.
If nothing else,
prison taught me how to survive. Some inmates couldn’t live on the outside. They needed minders to tell them where to eat and when to sleep. Others made prison a business. They organized themselves like corporations with CFO’s and Vice Presidents with Project Managers. They were not leaving until they had complete control of things and could carry that with them when they left. Then, there were the loners. I was one of those. I had learned not to depend on anyone except myself. Yet, here I was, like a man on a merry-go-round, doing the very thing I said I would never do, putting trust in someone.
“Where to now,” said Hilary.
I shrugged and said, “Jacksonville Beach. I have to start pulling on strings and see what happens.”
“What do you think will happen?”
“The way I got it figured, Lockman is going to tell me everything he knows or else.”
“Why kill him?”
said Hilary.
“Who said anything about killing him?
There are a lot of reasons why people talk to you. They might start missing some body parts. That usually gets things rolling.”
While we
were on I-95 heading to Jacksonville, I asked Hilary what she knew about Lockman.
“Not much. He was never around when Susan and I talked. What I know is just what she had told me whenever we got t
ogether over coffee at her place. My job was to get details on you, not him. However, Susan couldn’t stand him. Said she had to use him as a front for what she had to do. I got the impression she was in Jacksonville to get information and when she got what she needed, she was going to hit the road.”
“
Did Susan ever tell you who she was working for?” I said.
“No.
Then again,” said Hilary, “I got the impression she really wasn’t sure.”
Jacksonvill
e
Beach, Florida was once just a bunch of tents with people sleeping on the beach. Today the town reminded me of Daytona Beach without the motorcycles and the putt-putt golf outlets. All that was in the town were condos, hotels and seafood places. I never understood why my sister moved here from Atlanta until I drove over the Intracoastal Waterway and saw the reason why.
Squeezed in between A1A and the Atlantic Ocean was one of the largest resorts I had ever seen.
It looked like someone had taken fifteen football fields and stacked them on top of each other like a multilayer cake. A statue of an Indian the size of a ten story building was in the front standing in the middle of a collection of multilevel fountains and pools of water. In some of the pools there were swans swimming around dipping their heads every now and then into the water in front of the big Indian. Next to the Indian was a large sign welcoming people to the Timucua Castle and Casino Resort. Just before driving onto A1A, I saw a small office supply store in a strip mall on our right and drive into the small parking area parking in front of the store.
“I need to stop here for something
,” I said.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to buy cards?”
said Hilary.
“No. I’ll be right back.”
When I returned to the car, Hilary looked over at me and said, “We need office supplies?” she asked.
“Interested in doing a little gambling,” I said.
“I thought we were doing that already.”
While starting the car,
I showed her what I had purchased. I also had the clerk exchange a ten dollar bill for a roll of quarters.
“
I give up. What are the quarters for?”
“Balance,” I said.
“And the quit claim deed. Are we going into the real estate business?”
“We
aren’t buying anything. I thought it might be a good idea to bring one of these along when I met with Jake. He might want to part with his interest in my sister’s condo and I wanted to be ready for him.”
“What are the latex gloves for? I might want to watch this in case there is a test later.”
“Finger prints,” I said.
“You think he will sign it?”
Nodding my head, I didn’t want to tell her that after I was through with Lockman there was a pretty good chance he wouldn’t need the condo any longer.
“
You plan on giving him a physical?
“
Since Lockman was my sister’s contact with the Casino, he might know why Susan was here in the first place. I would bet my paycheck she worked at the Casino for reasons other than a job.”
“You don’t
get a paycheck,” Hilary said.
I was beginning to get comfortable with
Hilary. There really wasn’t any explanation for it and I wasn’t looking for one. She was smart, good looking and creative in tight situations. My hope was that she was going to be dependable. To find that out I had to give her some opportunities to prove that to me.
“Let’s drive by my sister’s place first and see if
anyone’s home. Next, check out the neighbors. Might be someone there who will be willing to talk, if not to me, you. Old men like to talk to pretty women. You can tell them you are her cousin and wanted to look her up while you were in town. If they say you’re a little late since she died a few months ago, be prepared to wing it.”
“What are you going to do while I’m soliciting the l
ocals?”
“Break
ing into my sister’s place and, if Lockman is there, do my thing. If not, shake the place down for information.”
Susan
’s condo was called the Silver Sands Condominium. It looked to be one of those condo conversions that were popular in the 70s, meaning it was more like an apartment complex than anything else. She lived on the second floor in apartment number 1808. I waited in the car until Hilary walked through an alcove heading toward the pool area. There was also a sign that said office. Both looked like good places for her to start.
After Hilary disappeared, I got out of the car and walked to the elevator
and rode it to the second floor. I was wearing my new blue blazer over stone-washed jeans and boat shoes. As I walked toward the front door to Susan’s apartment, I removed the Glock-17 from a rear holster and chambered a round.
Earlier I had returned the bullets to Hilary’s weapon and, a
t first, she had not been happy when she learned I had taken the ammo out of her weapon, but she said she understood and didn’t make a big deal out of it. Another good sign.
Walking up to the
front door, I rang the bell and waited. Nothing. I rang it again. Still nothing. Taking out a pick set I got from the stop at Eddie’s, I was in the place in under twenty seconds. I snapped on a pair of latex gloves before touching the door and shutting it. I knew I was taking a chance. Could have been a dog or an alarm system inside, but there was neither. I was probably right about the condo conversion idea.
The place was decorated in early Florida rattan with a lot of seascapes and driftwood
. A short hall led to a living area with a widescreen television in the far corner. The kitchen was on the right with a small dining area. I was surprised that the kitchen was laid out so well. All the appliances were made by KitchenAid and had been color matched with the kitchen cabinets. Walking further back, there were two bedrooms on the right with a bath in between them and a bedroom on the left that was used as an office. Next to that room was another bath that also exited out onto a hallway. I was impressed with the neatness of the place. My sister never cleaned anything that I could remember, but after fifteen years, she could have changed. Most people did. I suppose that’s why they called it maturity.
I had the place to myself and
I started in the office pulling out drawers and feeling under them, fingering through bills and letters. The paid bills were kept in one drawer and bills that were due in another. There were no bills in the ‘to-be-paid’ part of the drawer. Next, I checked the closet. It was full of expensive women’s clothing. What I was looking for was anything in the way of a letter from Atlanta, notes or, better still, a diary. I knew my sister kept one, but I didn’t expect to find one. Being an optimist, I kept looking.
W
alking into the far bedroom on the right, I saw a king sized bed with a lot of frilly things on it. On one wall was a corkboard with pictures held by little red stick pins. There were a lot of pictures on the board of my sister with men. Most of them were with the same man. I was betting it was a picture of Lockman. I took one of the best ones of Susan by herself and put it in my pocket. On the other side of the board I spotted a picture of a bunch of people sitting around a table with half eaten plates of food stacked on it. Empty wine bottles stood like soldiers waiting at a gate. None of the men looked like bankers just out on the town. Dressed in loud shirts, worn open at the neck, with large gold chains flashing around their necks, the men looked like reform school escapees playing dress up. The women were decked out like kewpie dolls at a penny arcade. Susan was the only one who looked like she had class. She was sitting next to a man who had his left arm around her shoulders covering her left breast with his hand. Susan had the look on her face of a girl waiting for a bus. Lockman was sitting two seats over talking to another woman who could double as Dracula’s wife. I took the picture with Romeo sitting next to Susan.
Looking around
, I kept hoping to find my sister’s diary. Pulling out one of the drawers of a nightstand next to the big bed, I found what I was looking for. In the drawer, were my sister’s diary and address book listing friends and acquaintances. I put them in my coat pocket and walked into the next room.
It
was as neat as the one I had just left, but there was nothing in the drawers or the closet, nothing, not even dust. If Jake was living in the place he was a cleaning freak.
I walked back into the living room. I
didn’t see anything else that might help me. I needed some time to go over what I had found.
Standing in the living room
, I heard a key being inserted into the front door lock. I stepped back and pressed myself up against the wall. Reaching behind my back, I removed the Glock-17. While the Glock was live, my hope was that I would not have to shoot whoever was about to enter the apartment.
The front door had one of those little chimes that bonged when the door swu
ng open. I saw the person’s shadow as they entered. It was Lockman in the flesh. When he cleared the hall I stepped forward and hit him hard behind the head, knocking him to the floor. When he tried to get up, I hit him again. He didn’t move. Ripping a couple of power cords out of table lamps, I tied him up. Then I walked into the kitchen and looked under the sink for some ammonia. I was in luck. Taking a paper towel, I soaked part of it with ammonia and held it under Lockman’s nose. After a few sniffs of the stuff, Lockman’s eyes popped open and he shook his head back and forth. He wanted to know what happened. I didn’t answer him and waited.
Chapter 1
7
“You
’r
e
Susan’s brother.”
“For a pimp you’re a smart guy,” I said.
“I’m not a pimp.”
“Yeah,” I said. Then I showed him the picture with the
jerk groping my sister’s breast. “Who’s this, the Easter Bunny?”
“That was a party. We were just having some fun,” he said.
“Aha. You like having fun, Lockman? Cause if you do, we can start having some fun. Only thing is, it’s not going to be a lot of laughs for you. Tell me who these clowns are, starting with the groper.”
I saw Lockman’s eyes cloud over.
I got a sense he was thinking not so much as to what he told me, but how he said it. While he was thinking, I stood up and walked back into the kitchen. Opening a few drawers, I found what I was looking for. A pair of kitchen shears used to cut through chicken bones. They worked wonders on fingers and other parts of the anatomy. Walking back to the living room, my buddy Lockman was still giving me the look. I reached down and took off one of his shoes and the sock he was wearing.
“What are you doing?”
I had his attention now.
“Lockman, I just maxed out on
a fifteen year stretch at the Atlanta Pen. I know how to get people to talk. In fact, when I’m through with you, you are going to be telling me your life story. You ready?”
“Look, look. I’ll tell you what you want to know
just don’t cut me.”
“
Actually that’s not right. You are going to tell me what I need to know,” I said.
“Okay, Okay
,” Lockman said. At this point he probably would have admitted to being the Easter Bunny.
“
That’s more like it.
“
First tell me what you had going with my sister. And if I think you’re lying to me, I’m going to cut a toe, starting with your big one.”
“Okay, okay. We were working together. We were a team. I found the marks and she wrapped them up. You know, got the money.”
“That tells me you were making money. What do you know about my sister’s death?”
“About six months ago, a couple of guys came around saying they wanted to party. Said they would pay
two thousand a night. They had a place at the casino and there was going to be a lot of important people there. They paid three nights in advance and your sister went with them. That was the last time I saw her alive. I swear on my mother’s grave.”
“You ever see th
ese bums before or since?”
“No. Never.”
For some stupid reason I believed him, but I had to have a place to start.
“Who are these people in this picture?”
I saw that blank look again. “They find out I fingered them, they’ll kill me.”
Taking the Glock, I took the suppressor out of my pocket and fitted it on the barrel.
“Look, Lockman. What do you think I’m going to do? Think about me first. Killing you is no big deal. I’m going to count to three and if you don’t start giving me names, I’m going to put a round into one of your knees. One, Two…”
“Okay, okay. I’ll
tell you. But you got to promise me you won’t hurt me anymore. The guy with the hand on your sister is Sonny Cappoleto. Also known as Sonny Cap. He runs a club called the Starlight in Atlanta. In fact, he owns a lot of places. The Starlight is just one, but it is his biggest place and popular with a lot of athletes and movie stars that move to the area. It’s real fancy. Your sister worked there before she moved to Jacksonville.”
“Ever hear of
someone named Hightower.”
He waited too long to answer. Getting up, I walked into the kitchen again and got a towel
to stick in his mouth.
“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you, but I’m nothing in this.
His name is Jonathon Hightower. He’s from somewhere in South Florida. I don’t know him. He used to send a plane up here to get your sister and fly her back after a few days. Did that a couple of times. I think he’s married to a real bitch and was just looking for a little recreation. I wasn’t in the loop on that.”
“When was the last time you saw this Sonny with my si
ster?”
“About
six months ago. We were at that party at the casino in Jax Beach. You got the picture there.”
“What was your connection to my sister besides being her pimp?”
“I’m telling you it wasn’t like that. I am a dealer at the casino and I met her there. We hit it off. She asked if I could get her a job there. I got her a job as a hostess. That’s it.”
“
You’re lying, Lockman. You got thrown out of the casino because of the money you owed.”
When he didn’t respond to that, I said, as I positioned the sheers
around his big toe, “Now I want answers or off comes the toe.”
I was starting to get pissed
off.
“I’m waiting
, Lockman,” I said.
“
Look, don’t cut me,” said Lockman. “Yeah, it was a Saturday. Susan had just gotten back from some meeting she said she had to attend in Orlando and she seemed to be real upset. I asked her if everything was okay. She said it was just something that she didn’t want to do. Said it had something to do with the casino. Then these people showed up and Susan left with them.”
“So tell me Jake, how are you paying your bills?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Your gambling markers. Who’s picking them up for you?”
“I…Why do you ask?”
“I think Susan was carrying you here
. Then you sold her out to someone on the promise that she would tell them where the money was from the casino robbery I scored fifteen years ago.”
Shaking his head, Jake said, “You got that all wrong. It was Susan’s idea to tell them. Said she had to because of some people she was involved with.”
“Go ahead and tell me all about it. We have plenty of time.”
Shrugging his shoulders as if to say
‘what’s the big deal’, he began to tell me about Susan, Sonny Cap and Hightower. He said that they wouldn’t leave Susan alone. Hightower always wanted her to go someplace exotic, like Rio, Havana, or St. Kitts.
“
Hightower had a plane he would send up to Jacksonville to pick Susan up and bring her back. It was always first class,” said Lockman. “As to your question about helping me out with some debts, yeah, she did. Said she was happy to do it. Susan seemed to always have plenty of money. I don’t know where she got it. Couldn’t make that kind of money working the street, I can tell you.”
“Was she on one of her trips when she died?” I said.
“Let me think.” After a few minutes his eyes brightened like turning on a light bulb. “Yeah, when these guys came to get her, she said she was going over to the casino and then from there, she was going to the islands with this Cap. Next thing I knew, she was found in one of the rooms at the casino beat up pretty bad and someone had done some bad things to her.” Dropping his head, Jake seemed to be catching himself. “I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do without her. I should have said something. It might have made a difference.”
I thought about sticking the rag in his mouth and ca
pping him, but for what. The guy was scared and he didn’t really know anything I could really use.
“Who did she hang out with at the casino
, Jake?”
“Some
couple. A husband and wife team. They both worked at the casino. The wife worked as a security guard and the husband, I don’t know what he did. Their name was Marks. That much I know.”
“What do you know about Hightower that
you haven’t told me so far?”
When he didn’t answer on the first bell I started to
stick the rag into his mouth before I put a round into his right knee.
“Don’t shoot. I’ll tell you.
“He’s some sort of partner in a casino with this Sonny. Place is located just up the way on an island called Cumberland.”
Now I knew the answers to some of the questions.
All fifteen million of them. I took out the address book I found in my sister’s room and started to go through it page by page reading off the names. Lockman didn’t know a lot of the names, but he knew five or six that had Atlanta telephone numbers and one with a Jacksonville number. I thought it was interesting that Lockman’s name was not in the directory. Probably on a speed dial on my sister’s cellphone, which brought me to my next question?
“Did my sister have a
cellphone?”
“Yes, but she always took it with her.”
“Who’s Billy Marks?”
“He’s
the husband of the woman friend of hers who I already told you about. He works at the Casino. I think your sister talked to him a lot.”
“What about you
, Lockman? She talk to you a lot?”
“
Yeah, sure. What kind of question is that?”
“Just wondering.
Here you are. The light of my sister’s life and you’re not listed in her address book. Don’t you find that interesting, Jake?”
“Yeah, well…we were good friends. We trusted each ot
her… I…”
“Jake, shut up. I can’t stand you lying to me.”
Reaching around, I removed the deed form I had gotten earlier. I cut his hands loose and told him to sign it.
“Why
are you doing this?”
“Just sign it
here” I pointed to the line with a pen. “Here’s a pen.”
I waited for him to sign and then refolded the deed and put it back in my front coat pocket.
I decided to let him live another day. I might need him down the road and he wasn’t a big enough player to do me any harm.
“Jake, I’m going to let you slide this time, but if I find out you s
old me out, I’m coming back here and, when I find you, your life is going to be one of misery. You got that?”
When he didn’t say anything, I repeated myself. “That’s a question
, asshole.”
“Yes. I won’t say a word.
”
I gave that some thought
, then thought what the hell and shot him in the head. Better to be safe than sorry