Gus laughed. “You should have seen Phil and the Butlers during the trip to St. Pete. After they were cleaned up and doctored, the three of them avoided Nick like he was the devil himself-not even a damn thank you. Nick told me to sneak everyone back where they belonged without saying anything to anybody. He gave the three kids a quick lecture, telling them to forget they ever saw him and how they ended up in St. Pete. They didn’t need convincing. Apparently, the official who had sold us out was one of the first casualties. A lot of the Kingston Posse hierarchy went to hell, too, so the Jamaican government wasn’t all that upset. Phil completed his internship and marred Julie Butler. They have a threeyear-old daughter.
“Nick never mentioned anything to you about it at all?”
“Sure he did.” Gus answered. “He said ‘Piece of cake.’”
Javier Martine exited his Ford Mustang in front of the Solano Vista apartment complex, wondering if he should call his contact at Fletcher Exports to report he had talked with Rene Santora. Although Rene had told him she had taken ill suddenly, Javier believed something else was going on. She had dodged his questions about whether the log had been checked pertaining to the Hunter safety deposit box and why she hadn’t called him.
“What do you want?” Javier recognized the man who'd interrupted him and Rene at the bank.
“Rene sent me over with a letter.” The man held up an envelope.
Javier groaned. His eyelids fluttered open and he quickly realized movement was impossible. Plastic ties fastened his ankles to something solid, pulled tight enough to nearly shut off circulation. He could feel his arms fastened painfully in the same way behind his back. A towel had been duct taped around his mouth and head. From what little he could see and feel, Javier knew he was duct taped to his kitchen chair and his pants were down. Directly in front of him, the bearded guy from the bank watched him with a detached look. Javier grunted in an attempt to get his captor’s attention and show he wanted to speak.
He heard a slight knock. The bearded man went to answer the door as if he expected someone. Javier groaned unintentionally when he saw a woman follow the man into the kitchen. Martine recognized her right away, despite the hair coloring: Rachel Hunter. He saw from her eyes that she recognized him too. The bearded man handed her the stun gun. Rachel leaned down with the weapon, bracing herself with a hand on Javier’s left shoulder, but the man pulled her hand away. He adjusted her slightly so no part of her was in contact with Javier.
“Remember my husband Rick?” she asked him, just before the crackling sound heralded a pain so intense Javier’s shoulder popped out of its socket when he jerked. He again passed out.
When he came to, every nerve ending on fire. The bearded guy grabbed his nose with plastic gloved fingers until Javier’s eyes bulged open, and then released him.
“I’m going to uncover your mouth for a moment. Give me the name of your boss at Fletcher, or Rachel here will tickle your balls with the blue arc again.”
“Max…Max Stoddard!” Javier cried out the moment the man from the bank peeled down the gag. “Please -” he began before the bearded man pulled the gag back into place.
“Just like I did a moment ago, Rach,” the bearded man directed, stepping aside.
Rachel Hunter leaned toward Javier’s widening eyes once again. She gripped his nose shut with her own plastic covered fingers, and glanced at the bearded guy while Javier’s vision turned grainy.
“Like this?” he heard her ask as if from far away.
“Perfect.”
Nick looked over his handiwork carefully. Javier Martine sat on his couch in front of the big screen television mounted on the wall. The ESPN sports channel was selected on the screen at normal volume. Javier clutched the channel changer in his right hand. In his left, a two-thirds full beer can was propped up on his left thigh. The missing third of the beer had been carefully poured down Javier’s throat. Javier’s eyes were closed as if he had fallen asleep watching sports. Nick had cleaned the apartment thoroughly.
“I’ll get the rental first and swing by to pick you up,” he told Rachel. “Slip out of here and lock up as you leave. Don’t exit if anyone is in view of the door. Keep your hat pulled down over your face and don’t look up, just like when you came in.”
“Oh, was I supposed to do that on the way in?”
He growled as Rachel smiled at him innocently. “One of these days, Alice, one of these days,” Nick wheezed through clenched teeth while looking up at the apartment ceiling with cocked fist. “Right to the moon, baby, right to the moon.” He completed his Ralph Kramden ‘
She laughed. “Not bad. Bullwinkle the moose, right? Can you do Rocky the Flying Squirrel too?”
“Let’s get going before I’m forced to give you an attitude adjustment,” he replied, slipping out into the night.
Rachel walked out to Nick’s rental and slid into the passenger side seat. He drove around the block to where he’d had her park the Escalade and stopped behind it.
“Do you think they’ll suspect murder?” she asked before leaving the car.
“No forced entry, no telltale marks… at least none they’ll spot without getting real close. My guess is they’ll accept the scene the way I left it. Javier’s apartment is locked from the inside. I saw his rap sheet. I doubt the cops will give him a second thought. Rene is the one I’m interested in.”
Rachel sighed. “You were probably right the first time about my girlfriend. She’s feeding Tanus and Fletcher. So, who tipped off Frank’s people yesterday?”
“I don’t know, but we’re not going anywhere near that bank now. Rene will be in trouble with some hard people.
I’m betting Frank’s insider will be checking the logs of who accessed what after Kate and Jessops are missed. Word will get to Tanus that the drives are gone, and Rene will be answering questions about how it happened. I copied the drive from Javier’s rinky-dink computer. I’ll see if he has anything on there I can use. Get going. I’ll see you at the condo.”
She grabbed Nick hard around the neck, her face inches away from his.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll expect to collect my fee later,” he whispered, his lips caressing hers, making her pull away with a moan of regret. She quickly left the rental and hurried to the driver’s side of the Escalade.
Gus threw Deke’s well-chewed Frisbee over the patch of lawn where he had seen Nick doing it. It was near dusk and the parking lot lights had already flickered to life. Both Deke and Jean chased after the Frisbee, with Jean trying to block the dog’s path back to Gus after Deke beat her to the toy. Nick saw Gus look up as the Escalade drove into the parking lot, followed closely by the rented Pontiac.
“Hey, Gus.” Nick waved, getting out with his equipment bag in hand. “Have you tired either of them out yet?”
“Not hardly. How’s the banking business?”
“Oh, you know, same old stuff-one less problem, one new one.” Nick waved at Jean as Rachel walked over to join them. “Did you eat yet?”
“No, I figured we’d all go out to a little place I know in Sarasota. I’ll guide you to it, and then go home from
