We joined a freeway headed west. 'I made a coupla calls,' Rink said as our journey took us toward Tampa. 'Spoke to an old friend out in Little Rock. You don't know him. Harvey Lucas. Ex-military. A good man. I worked alongside him during Desert Storm. Met him again by chance a few years back an' kept in touch since. He's done some diggin' around for me.'
'So what's he come up with?'
'Not much. First day on the job.'
'Anything's a help.'
'He went to see this Louise woman.'
'And?'
'She wasn't exactly friendly. Said she'd speak to nobody but you.'
I nodded. Her reluctance made sense. 'In her letter, she said that John had been acting strange, afraid of something. She could also be scared. I suppose she's not going to say too much to a stranger asking about John's whereabouts.'
'Even after he mentioned your name, she wouldn't give Harvey diddlysquat,' Rink said. 'But he was able to set up a meeting with her. Tomorrow afternoon, three o'clock, after she gets off work. Another thing he found out: seems your brother liked to gamble.'
Yeah? That was quite an understatement. 'You think it's because of the gambling he's gone missing?'
'Could be. By all accounts he's left a large IOU with a local shark called Sigmund Petoskey. Petoskey's not the most forgiving of people. Could be a good starting-off point to see what he's got to say for himself.'
'As good a point as any,' I agreed.
'I remember Petoskey from years ago,' Rink said. 'A no-good
punk with delusions of grandeur. Siggy likes to think of himself as some kinda new world Godfather type. He's gathered a gang of scum around him to do his head bashing when the punters are a little slow to pay up. Maybe John's simply had the good sense to get out with all his limbs intact.'
'What's Petoskey into?'
'He's into all sorts. Got hisself a good cover as a businessperson. Real estate. Used-car dealerships. Those kinda things. But he makes most of his money from the gambling and corruption.'
'Corruption?' I asked.
'Yup. Has a few names in local government by the balls. Certain cops won't touch him, either.'
'What's he like?'
'A punk of the highest order,' Rink said. 'But I suppose with a gang behind him he's dangerous enough. To someone who's easily frightened, that is.'
'Yeah, just like every other asshole we ever went up against,' I noted.
Rink often seems to know what I'm thinking. 'I've got the guns and stuff back at the condo,' he said. 'Petoskey won't give us squat unless we show him we mean business.'
I nodded at his foresight. We both knew that when you went up against someone like Petoskey or Shank you had to show them that you weren't about to take any shit from them. Shank could be intimidated by a nasty promise, but in a land where every other blue-rinsed grandma toted a sidearm, you had to bring something even nastier to the negotiating table.
'Does Harvey know where Petoskey is?'
'I've got him on it. By the time we arrive in Arkansas, he'll be able to tell you where Petoskey squats down to take a dump . . . and at what time.'
I said, 'All I need to know is where he'll be this time tomorrow.'
'Leave it with me. I'll give Harvey another call as soon as we get back to my place.'
'Sure,' I said.
Business sorted, Rink turned to me. A smile lit up his features. 'It's good you're here, Hunter.'
'Good to be here.'
8
duty and soldiering go hand in hand. the same could be said for family. I might have been a little remiss in supporting my loved ones since retiring from the forces.
Diane and I were history. She had made a new life with Simon. Nevertheless, there were others I could help if they needed it. I was ashamed that my niece and nephew were living in such squalor, that Jennifer had fallen so low that my skills for pressuring people were all I could offer them.
John is my brother. If you want specifics, he's actually my half brother. My father died and my mother remarried. Then John came along. Maybe it's because we have different fathers that we've turned out like oil and water. I was the war hero, John the stay-at-home ne'er-do-well. Of course, that doesn't mean much in some eyes. Funny how our parents always took his side.
Over his fifth beer, my stepfather had once said to me, 'While you've been off gallivanting all over the world, John's been here. John's the one we've had to call for if we needed help. You've never been around. It's all right for you, Joe. You've had everything you ever wanted. What's that boy ever had?'
I hadn't had it in me to argue. I just walked away.
I found John at a bar, swilling down his paycheck alongside a couple of friends. I cornered him by the pool table. Grabbing him by the collar, I pushed him against a wall. His friends knew better than to step in.
'Where the hell's all the money I gave you, John?'
