Flame and Fortune, page 23
“Because she wanted all the money from the licensing rights,” I said. “But Brock wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Remember, Mandy told me she thought Brock had something on RJ. I think I know what it is.”
“What?” Ida Belle asked.
“I think RJ was driving the car back in high school when they wrecked. I think after they wrecked, they moved Marigold into the driver’s seat because they were both drunk and she wasn’t. Then they were going to call for help. But the car caught fire and those people stopped to help, which accomplished the same thing as far as their story, but severely injured Marigold.”
“That’s the reason Marigold won’t ride in the back seat,” Gertie said. “She was in the back when they wrecked.”
“And you told me Marigold didn’t like to drive at night because of her vision,” I said. “So the odds of her driving on unfamiliar roads that late at night are low.”
“So you think Brock was going to tell Christina the truth if RJ cut him out of the deal?” Ida Belle asked. “But if the truth came out, the deal would probably go away because of the negative publicity. Then they’d both lose out.”
“I think Brock was willing to lose as long as RJ didn’t win,” I said. “He was done letting her call the shots.”
“But why is RJ on the hook for Brock’s debt?” Gertie asked.
“I’m not positive,” I said. “But I think it was RJ who made the original deal with Payday. When she could no longer perform, she lost her access to the clubs.”
“So Brock bounced, hooked up with a new singer, and took over the drug dealing business,” Ida Belle said. “But he wasn’t as sharp as RJ and tried to steal from Payday.”
“I still don’t get how RJ is on the hook if Brock cut his own deal.”
“Maybe Payday considers them partners,” Ida Belle said. “And he’s not willing to change his stance because he thinks he can collect from RJ since she’s got the licensing money coming.”
“So it was RJ who put the knot on Brock’s head?” Gertie asked.
“No. I think that was Sledgehammer,” I said.
“But you said RJ killed him,” Gertie said.
I nodded. “She overdosed him. Remember, Brock couldn’t even hold a pick, so there’s no way he got a needle in his left arm using his right hand. I’d bet money he has recent track marks on his right arm. But RJ probably didn’t know about the nerve damage, so she put the drugs in the wrong arm.”
“So Sledgehammer fought with Brock, then left,” Ida Belle said. “Then RJ came and what?”
“My guess is that between the alcohol and the head injury, he started getting dizzy and sat down. Maybe he lost consciousness or maybe she offered him a fix and he was jonesing too hard to turn it down. The TV remote was in the chair, so as he died, he slumped and pressed against it, shooting the volume into the stratosphere.”
“So RJ gave him a lethal dose,” Gertie said.
“Then drove home and went to bed like nothing happened. I knew she was cold, but that’s something else entirely.”
“So it was Sledgehammer who took that shot at her?” Ida Belle said. “A warning?”
“Actually, I think she shot her car window out herself,” I said. “It made her the target. The victim. And distracted even more from making her a suspect.”
Ida Belle pressed harder on the accelerator. “And now she’s got five thousand in cash and is about to acquire a better car—one that will take her far away to hide until she can collect that licensing money and a vehicle that Sledgehammer isn’t looking for.”
“Found them!” Shadow’s voice came over the phone.
We heard a door open and close and then Shadow again.
“Ma’am, I found them. I’m just going to forward the phones and lock up the office, then I’ll grab my car and meet you in the back.”
“Yeah, all right,” RJ said.
We heard more shuffling and then a car door open and close and Shadow’s voice came full force on the line.
“Are you still there?” he asked.
“Yes. And we’re maybe eight minutes out.”
“Really? Okay. I can make eight. Eight is good. There’s not going to be a gunfight, is there? Does she have a gun?”
“Probably,” I said. “If she pulls it out, then dive under the nearest car and let me handle it.”
He groaned. “I really, really hate you.”
“I’ll cover your next month of therapy.”
“Like that will put a dent in it. Okay, have to put you back into my pocket before she sees me on the phone.”
“Should we call Carter?” Gertie asked when I put my phone back on mute.
“We don’t have any proof,” I said. “I’m hoping when we confront her that she’ll mess up, so be ready to record when we get there—both of you.”
They nodded.
“Is it going to reach?” I heard RJ asked.
“I don’t think so,” Shadow said. “Let me back up and move closer.”
I clenched my hands as I looked out the windshield. I’d stopped looking at the speedometer when it broke 100 mph, and our speed had increased since. She was pushing it as hard as she could, and I prayed we got there before RJ disappeared. With 5K in cash, who knew how long it would take her to surface.
“Will you get on with it?” RJ asked, and I could hear the frustration in her voice.
“Look, this isn’t my skill set,” Shadow said. “I need to look up where they go. Unless you know—you’re the repo person. Shouldn’t you know cars?”
“What are you insinuating?” RJ asked.
“Nothing. I just thought you’d know and I wouldn’t have to look it up.”
“Jesus. Here’s a picture.”
“Shadow’s doing a good job of faking to stall,” Gertie said.
“I don’t think he’s faking,” I said.
“Going somewhere?” a man’s voice boomed over Shadow’s phone.
My heart dropped.
Sledgehammer.
I clenched my phone and we all listened to the horror story playing out that we couldn’t do anything to stop.
“Send Carter a text and tell him to get over to the motel before Sledgehammer kills RJ and Shadow,” I said to Gertie.
“Oh my God!” Shadow said. “He’s got a gun. I didn’t do anything, I swear. She needed a jump.”
“Open the trunk,” Sledgehammer said.
“I can make this right,” RJ said. “I have money—five grand.”
“And you were just headed my way with it, right?” Sledgehammer asked. “Do you think I’m stupid? And five grand isn’t half of what’s owed.”
I heard keys rattling and the sound of metal squeaking.
“It’s not even my debt,” RJ said, sounding frantic. “Brock went solo after he left me. You know that.”
“But you brought him in,” Sledgehammer said. “That means you’re on the hook for him, whether you’re sharing sheets or not. You should have picked better. I’ll be taking that five thousand, though, and I’ll be taking you—back to Nashville to see Payday. He can decide whether he wants to wait on you to settle the rest or make an example of you.”
Ida Belle took the exit for the motel going so fast, I was pretty sure the SUV was airborne for just a second.
“Now keep your hands up and sit next to the car,” Sledgehammer continued.
I heard shuffling and a scream that I was certain had come from Shadow, then the sound of a trunk slamming shut.
“I’m in the trunk,” Shadow said, his voice a combination of abject fear and disbelief.
Ida Belle looked over at me. “How do you want to approach this?”
“I’ll jump out at the front of the motel and access the back lot through the breezeway,” I said. “You continue around. This glass should protect you from whatever weapon Sledgehammer is holding. Use your SUV to block them from driving out. Do not get out of the SUV for any reason!”
I looked back at Gertie. “Any word from Carter?”
She shook her head. “But he read the message.”
“Then he’s on his way, but he knows not to risk contact.”
Suddenly, muffled gunshots came through my phone.
“They’re shooting,” Shadow said. “I’m going to die.”
“Just stay down and cover your head,” I said.
“I’m locked in a trunk! I can’t get more down than that!”
“We’re almost there,” I said. “I’ve got to disconnect.”
“No—”
Chapter Twenty-Five
He was yelling when I disconnected but I couldn’t help it. Stealth was the operative word right now. Ida Belle slowed down as she approached the motel so that they couldn’t hear her engine racing, then eased across the parking lot. Just before she reached the breezeway, I jumped out of the SUV and ran to the motel as she continued to the rear parking access at the end of the building. I didn’t see the Mercedes anywhere, so I assumed Sledgehammer had parked nearby and sneaked up on them.
No more shots rang out, and I wondered if it was over and Sledgehammer had put an end to RJ right there in the parking lot. I prayed that Shadow hadn’t been caught in the cross fire. If he had, it was all on me. I should have let him drive away when he had the chance, but I really hadn’t thought he was in any danger. And from RJ, he wouldn’t have been. But Sledgehammer had completely changed the game.
I crept up to the breezeway access and someone opened a room door nearby.
“Police are on the way,” I whispered. “Stay inside and stay down.”
He nodded and immediately closed the door. I prayed anyone else in the rooms had locked their doors and hit the deck when the shooting started. I also prayed that none of them would try to ‘help.’
I peered into the breezeway and found it clear. Ida Belle’s SUV had just made the corner around the motel, so I slipped into the breezeway and hurried to the back of the motel. At the edge of the back opening, I paused and listened, but the only thing I could hear was the low rumble of Ida Belle’s SUV in the distance.
I didn’t have any protection in my current position, so I got down on all fours and crawled over to the bumper of a big truck parked near the breezeway exit. Then I pressed my head on the ground and scanned the area for feet. I spotted the black combat boots I’d seen Sledgehammer wearing behind the SUV I’d seen with the hood up. The car next to it must be Shadow’s. There was no sign of RJ, but Sledgehammer was crouched low and moving toward the front of the SUV, clearly scouting for her.
“You might as well give up!” he shouted.
RJ’s response was a shot fired through the windshield of the SUV.
That put RJ somewhere behind a truck just a few down from the one I was ducked behind. I moved around to the side so if she shifted to the back, she wouldn’t see me. I checked under the cars again and couldn’t see Sledgehammer’s boots. Then I saw movement at the corner of a dumpster behind the SUV. He’d changed positions to put a better barrier between him and RJ. Unfortunately, that put a better barrier between him and me.
I heard Ida Belle’s SUV round the corner, and she honked the horn, then revved the engine.
“What the hell is that?” Sledgehammer yelled. “You think your getaway driver is going to save you?”
He fired off two rounds at Ida Belle’s SUV and they ricocheted off the bulletproof glass and to the side.
I took the opportunity to take a shot at Sledgehammer, but all I had sight of was a bit of his shoulder. I heard him yell and figured I’d grazed him at least. I peered around the front bumper of the truck and saw RJ go through a hole in the hurricane fence that ran down one side of the back lot. I couldn’t pursue her without exposing myself to Sledgehammer, but I couldn’t afford to let her get away either.
I waved at Ida Belle and pointed at the fence. She put the SUV in reverse and was backing up when Sledgehammer whirled around the dumpster and opened fire on the SUV. Ida Belle floored it in reverse, but as she was about to whip around the side of the motel, Sledgehammer landed a direct hit right through her front grille. The engine died and steam started coming out. I was pretty sure I could hear Ida Belle cussing all the way across the parking lot.
“Whoever’s out there, show yourself and put down your weapon!” Sledgehammer shouted. “The broads in that SUV are sitting ducks. You’ve got three seconds to step out or I’ll light up the trunk of that car and the guy in it dies.”
If it had just been me and Sledgehammer in the parking lot, I would have taken the chance on a Western showdown. I had no doubt I could pull faster, and I always had a spare. And I wasn’t worried about Ida Belle and Gertie because God only knows what kind of firepower they could put in Sledgehammer before he got anywhere near them. But it was his threat to fire into the trunk of Shadow’s car that concerned me. He was shooting the .45, and a round would have no trouble penetrating the truck lid.
“Three…two…one!”
I stepped out from behind the truck, my weapon in the air, and prayed he’d give me even one second to pull off a miracle. He peered out quickly from behind the dumpster, then tucked back in. From where he was standing, he had a clear shot at the trunk of the car. But I didn’t have a clear shot at him and there was no way to get one without transferring a good twenty feet over in plain sight. I could draw and fire my backup weapon in no time at all, but I couldn’t run faster than a bullet.
I heard something behind me, then a whiz overhead, and jumped back behind the truck just as the dumpster exploded. I looked back and saw Gertie hanging out of the top of Ida Belle’s SUV, clutching a grenade launcher and cheering.
Sledgehammer staggered out of the smoke and flames, his clothes shredded and hanging on him like smoldering rags. He tried to lift his arm but he was spent. He collapsed in a heap right behind Shadow’s car. I ran over and gave his gun a healthy kick, then checked the car for the keys.
“Shadow?” I called out. “Are you all right? Where are the keys?”
“He threw them in here with me,” Shadow said.
Ida Belle and Gertie ran up and Gertie pulled a small crowbar out of her purse. I didn’t even stop to question it. I just shoved it in the crease and popped the trunk open.
Shadow was curled up in the trunk in the fetal position. He lifted his head and blinked several times and I scanned him for blood.
“Are you injured?” I asked.
“My shoulder hurts,” he said, sounding dazed as I helped him out of the trunk. “But I didn’t get shot, so I guess that’s good.”
He looked down at Sledgehammer and laughed.
“Oh good, a half naked man. It’s been at least a day.”
Then he promptly passed out.
“Where is RJ?” Gertie asked.
“She went through the fence,” I said.
About that time, an engine fired up behind the tree line and a second later, we stared as Sledgehammer’s black Mercedes roared by.
“Crap!” Ida Belle said. “My SUV is completely blocking the side. You can’t get a car through there.”
“These cars wouldn’t catch that Mercedes anyway,” Gertie said. “Especially with the head start she has.”
I reached into my pocket for my cell, ready to call Carter, and felt it vibrate as I pulled it out.
I started laughing as I showed them the blinking red dot.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The next afternoon, Ida Belle, Gertie, Ronald, and I were enjoying a nice dip in my hot tub when Carter came around the corner. When he saw all of us sitting in the bubbling water holding plastic champagne glasses, I thought he was going to turn around. But instead, he headed our direction and took a seat on the end of the porch.
“I see you’re celebrating,” he said.
“You should be too,” Ronald said. “Sinful is free from the scourge once more.”
“It’s only the first week of the year,” Gertie pointed out. “We’ve got time to import some more scourge.”
“We’ve got enough homegrown, thank you,” Ida Belle said. “No need to import more.”
“Amen,” Carter said. “Fortune’s relocation here increased my workweek by at least fifteen percent on average. My job is going to cut into my sleeping time soon. Or worse, my beer drinking time.”
“You worked enough last week for two people,” Ronald said. “Toss off your clothes and climb in here with us.”
Carter stared. “You’re not all naked in there, right?”
We all laughed, and his expression shifted from fearful to slightly horrified.
“Of course not,” I said and rose up enough to show my bathing suit strap. “We’re all legally clad, even though this is private property.”
“Within clear view of the bayou,” Carter said.
“They can’t see us in here,” Gertie said.
“But you have to get out at some point,” Carter said.
“Details,” Ronald said. “You’re overly concerned with details.”
“So am I,” I said. “And I assume you’re stopping by to give us an update on everything.”
He nodded. “First up, Sledgehammer has some burns and a concussion, but he’s going to make it. I’m having a hard time convincing people that the grenade belonged to Sledgehammer and he set it off accidentally, but the alternative is a couple of old ladies doing it, so they’re willing to shove it under the rug.”
“If they only knew,” Gertie grumbled.
“Be glad they don’t, or you’d be sitting in a jail cell,” Carter said. “But since Sledgehammer can’t remember a thing about the blast, you’re good.”
“What about RJ?” I asked.
“RJ has been transferred to Nashville where she will work with the DA to build a case against Payday.”
“Don’t tell me she gets away with everything!” Gertie said.
“She doesn’t,” Carter said. “The DA here is working with the DA there to coordinate a punishment for the crimes here in conjunction with leniency for her cooperation there.”
“Did it go down like I said?” I asked.
“I think so,” he said. “But unfortunately, we can’t prove it all.”
