JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER Read online

  “Kelly.” Jack nodded.

  “You were still in Iraq. I was at the movies with Boomer and Mark, and I saw Michelle talking to Kelly.”

  Jack’s hands tightened around his cue. Michelle knew Kelly, but Kelly didn’t break up with me until after I got home.

  “You know Michelle,” Bobbie continued. “She wasn’t yelling, but the conversation was getting heated so we went over to keep an eye on her.”

  “Was Kelly with them?” Jack slammed the nine into the corner pocket.

  “No. She was with some guy. That’s why Michelle was so upset.”

  Jack finished his beer.

  “It’s just low-class bringing some new guy around your ex-boyfriend’s hood, you know? Anyway, Kelly said no to whatever Michelle was asking.” Bobbie chuckled.

  “What?” Jack smashed the eleven, and it bounced around the table without dropping.

  “Replacement.” His laugh was deep. “Z just pounced. It was something out of National Geographic. Like a lion. Kelly went flying, and Z just started hammering away. The new boyfriend tried to break it up, and Z beat the snot out of him too. It was funny as hell. The guy’s got this poufy hair. You know, all pampered and wavy? Z’s pulling it with one hand and pounding him with the other. Uppercuts—like a hockey player. Michelle’s trying to get Z to stop, but Z just redlined. You remember how crazy Boomer is?”

  Jack nodded. Boomer got his nickname when they were kids because he liked to smash stuff.

  “Boomer’s still scared of her.” Bobbie laughed. “He tried to pull Z off the boyfriend, and Z beat on Boomer until he let go of her. Kelly and her boyfriend took off running, and Z was screaming. It was seriously messed up, man.”

  “What was?” Replacement hopped up on a stool against the wall.

  Jack shook his head and Bobbie caught the gesture. “Nothing. Just talking about Grease-E.”

  “You’re still on this game?” She stuck her tongue out.

  Kelly cheated on me. Jack’s hand shook, and he scratched the eight in the side.

  “I’m up!” Replacement popped around the table and grabbed the balls. “Eight? I break?”

  Bobbie grinned. “You gonna call the shots?”

  “Only words that’ll be heard will be mine,” she boasted.

  Bobbie laughed.

  Jack leaned against the wall. He watched Replacement’s face turn serious as she got ready to break. She launched herself forward and the balls scattered across the table. She dropped three on the break, and her lips didn’t twitch into the smile he expected. He thought she would be hopping up and down, but instead, she became completely focused as she planned her upcoming shots.

  “Lucky.” Bobbie’s smile faded. “How’s Aunt Haddie?”

  “She’s always in good spirits.” Jack looked down at his empty glass.

  “One cross corner.” Replacement drilled the ball into the pocket and raised an eyebrow at Jack. “One for you, too. You’re driving.”

  “Where’d you learn to play, Z?” Bobbie asked.

  “Chandler. He couldn’t use English, but he had a great touch.”

  Bobbie shook his head and laughed.

  “Four in the side. One bank.” Replacement dropped the four and the two. “What’s so funny?”

  Bobbie held the cue. “That was Chandler. He wasn’t the best at a lot of stuff, but he was always good at almost everything.” He finished his beer, reached over, and picked up another.

  Jack counted five glasses.

  “Why’d you laugh?” Replacement pressed. “Three along the rail.”

  “My dad.” Bobbie laughed again. “I was thinking about when Jack came to Aunt Haddie’s…I was a kid and I’d got jealous of Chandler.” He looked down, swirled his cup, and chuckled.

  “If it’s a story about Jack, I have to hear it.” Replacement leaned against the table and eagerly grinned.

  “When Jack came to live at Aunt Haddie’s, him and Chandler were thick as thieves—right away and they’re like tight. I had four sisters and no brothers, so at dinner, I asked my dad if we could get a little white kid to live at our house. My dad almost died, he laughed so hard. Him and my mom. She ran out of the room and came back wearing different pants.” Bobbie wiped his eyes. “My dad told me later we couldn’t. He said Aunt Haddie was special, and she’s the only black women he’s ever known that they let get a white kid.”

  Jack laughed, and Bobbie joined in. Jack leaned back and laughed hard. It had been too long since he laughed like that.

  As they both rubbed their eyes, Replacement called out, “Eight all the way up.” Her serious face dropped when the ball did. She giggled and danced in a circle before she rushed up to Bobbie and stuck her tongue out.

  “Boy, Aunt Haddie sure taught you to be a good sport.” Bobbie shook his head.

  Replacement pouted. “Don’t be a sore loser!” She danced again.

  “Closing, boys,” the bartender called out.

  “Come on, Bobbie. I’ll give you a ride home,” Jack offered.

  Replacement kissed Jack’s cheek. “I’ll meet you back at the apartment?” She grinned.

  “Sure thing…Z.”

  Replacement’s smile faded.

  ********

  Jack walked into the apartment, and Lady trotted out to him with her doll in her mouth. He rubbed behind her ears for a minute before she headed for his bedroom.

  That sure beats the fangs and barking and almost eating me. He knocked on Replacement’s door. “Did you take Lady out?”

  “Yes. Night.”

  I don’t think so. He knocked again. “We need to talk.”

  The silence lasted long enough that Jack felt his frustration click on low.

  “Okay.” Her voice was so quiet he barely heard it.

  He let the door swing open and leaned against the doorframe. Replacement’s room was surprisingly neat and Spartan: a twin bed, one bureau, and a small desk in the corner. She didn’t have a TV. On the bureau was a picture of Aunt Haddie, Chandler, Michelle, and Jack. She sat up in the bed with a blanket pulled tightly around her.

  “Little Z?” he asked, and Replacement’s eyes widened and she grinned awkwardly.

  “Are you gonna freak out?” she asked.

  “That depends. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

  “Bobbie told you what happened.”

  Jack nodded. “But I want to hear it from you.”

  She shook her head.

  He turned his hands out.

  “I don’t want to.” Replacement looked down and frowned. “You still talk about her.”

  “What?” Jack folded his arms. “I’ve never talked to you about Kelly.”

  “You have.” Replacement exhaled. “In your sleep.”

  Damn. “You listen to me while I’m talking in my sleep? That ain’t fair, kid.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  Jack looked around the room. “Don’t listen. You know they’re nightmares. I’m not, like, dreaming of us in the Bahamas, making out.”

  She scowled. “I hope not.”

  “Whatever. Stop eavesdropping on me while I am sleeping, and tell me what happened.”

  “I’m not eavesdropping.”

  Jack leaned back against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay. Maybe I’m eavesdropping a little,” she confessed as she rolled her eyes.

  “Spill it.”

  “I was at the movies and Michelle saw Kelly with a guy. You know Michelle. She went up and confronted her. Kelly said she was going to tell you,” Replacement looked down, “but it was just after Chandler died. We didn’t know how you were doing. Everyone was really worried about you. Michelle pleaded with Kelly not to tell you right then. All she was asking was for her to give you more time, so you could heal. You had been through so much, but Kelly…she was just mean.” Replacement scrunched up her shoulders while her hands went out.

  “I think there’s more to the story, Z.”

  Replacement swallowe
d. “You know how nice Michelle was and I’d never seen her like that. She basically got on her knees, and that coldhearted witch said, ‘he’ll have to deal with it.’” Replacement sat up straight and he saw her body stiffen.

  “And…” Jack motioned for her continue.

  Replacement’s head tilted back and forth while her lips mashed together. “I sorta lost it. I mean, come on. You’re in a war zone. You just lost your brother and she supposedly ‘loves you.’ Michele wasn’t getting anywhere, and I was just going to scare Kelly, but everything went red, and I went nuts. I remember hitting her and then the guy grabbed me, so I punched him too.” She tossed her hands up. “Sorry.”

  Jack watched as she sat in the middle of the bed with a look on her face that said she was sorry, but she’d do it again without missing a beat. “Thanks, kid.”

  Replacement’s face scrunched up. “Thanks?”

  “Yeah. Thank you.”

  She tilted her head and her face contorted even more. “Thanks for telling you or punching Kelly?”

  Jack laughed. “Telling me. And having my back. I don’t agree with you and Michelle not letting me know Kelly was cheating on me, but I see why you girls did it.”

  Replacement sat there for a moment taking in what he said before she looked him up and down. “You’re not going to freak out?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. “Guess that’s what I usually do. Sorry.”

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged. Why not? I thought I was going to marry her; why not go off the rails when I find out she cheated?

  Replacement’s eyes smiled.

  “What? I haven’t said anything,” Jack said.

  “It’s another thing I like about you.” Her shoulders popped up and down. “You think. You don’t just answer.”

  “I have my reasons. One, I already knew. I knew in Iraq. Not that she cheated, but that she was gone. I could tell in her letters.” He closed his eyes. “I didn’t really care. I know that sounds cold, and it isn’t what I mean. I mean, I was just numb. I was just going through the paces in life. After Chandler, I felt like I died.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “That she cheated? Tonight, but it was over the night I got back from Iraq. We broke up at the airport when she picked me up.”

  “She told you right then?” Replacement’s teeth flashed.

  Jack shook his head. “I saw it in her eyes. There was no denying it.” He exhaled.

  “Sorry.”

  “It just added to it all. All the weirdness. It’s hard for a soldier to come back.”

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered.

  “I remember getting off the plane. Three days earlier, people had been trying to kill me, and now I’m standing in the middle of the airport, surrounded by people who were just…” he waved his hand around, “living. They didn’t have a clue to the hell I saw in the war. Neither did Kelly. When she came walking up to me, I realized, well…nothing here had changed. She was the same, but I was different. I couldn’t even talk to her. I was looking right into her eyes, and I knew she didn’t know me anymore. I wasn’t the same man. So I just let her walk away. I guess that’s why I’m not so upset. Well, that and…” His voice trailed off.

  “What?”

  “I have you now.”

  Replacement started to pull the blanket back and Jack shook his head slightly. She hesitated.

  “Do you want me to come in with you?” she asked.

  “No. Not tonight.” Jack stood up straight and slowly backed out of the room. “Thanks.”

  The door clicked shut, and Jack exhaled. His hand stayed on the doorknob. He knew Replacement’s heart went out to him right now. He sensed her desire to protect and comfort him. He wanted to slip over to the bed and lay with her, but… Not tonight. It needs to be special for her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Life’s Not Fair

  Jack’s eyes fluttered open as Replacement crawled into bed next to him. He reached for her. She gasped as he pulled her over him onto the bed. He pressed his lips against hers. He grinned as he felt her relax.

  She pulled herself back up and shook her head rapidly. “Hold on.”

  He exhaled and let his head fall back on the pillow. “Sorry.”

  She patted his chest. “It’s not you. But I came in to tell you there’s a news story about a possible link to Daniel’s murder and Ray Davis.”

  “Good. That means Morrison is looking into it.” Jack sat up.

  “Would Bob tell the news?”

  “Sure he would. He’s got a real way of working with the media. That’s what you want. That’s how you get the information out there.”

  “I made you breakfast.” Replacement scooted out of bed. “The story’s more of a repeat about the articles they had about the murder of Ray Davis, but now they’re suggesting there may be a connection between the two.”

  “Let’s hope with the added attention someone remembers something and calls it in.” Jack got out of bed. “I want to go talk to Daniel’s ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend. Did you get anything on them?”

  “I ran a background check on both of them. Sandra’s got nothing. She got popped on spring break in Daytona for disturbing the peace and drunk and disorderly—that’s it. Wade’s a winner. He has a few priors but no jail time. He was arrested once for bad checks and twice for domestic assault, but he walked. He also has three kids in Florida, and there’s an open case about failure to pay child support.”

  “I can’t wait to talk to this guy. How long will it take you to get ready?”

  Replacement stood up, spun around, and waved her hands like a magician. “Poof—ready.”

  Jack kissed her. “Wiseass.” He smiled and then hurried for the shower.

  *******

  The Charger stopped in front of Sandra’s apartment. Jack turned to Replacement, and she held up her hand and pledged, “I’ll behave.”

  “You’ll stay in the car.”

  “I’m not staying in the car.” She grabbed the door handle. “You already made me leave Lady home.”

  “Because last time Lady almost ate Sandra. You can come, but I do all the talking and you stand behind me.”

  “Fine.” As she pushed her door open, she stopped. “If she goes to call the police, do we run?”

  Jack laughed. “She won’t be calling the police, because I’m doing the talking.”

  As they walked up the staircase, Replacement said, “Hey, do you start negotiating with me as far back as you can?”

  “What?”

  “I think you just wanted to do all the talking. But if you said to me, ‘I do all the talking,’ then I’d say, ‘No. I do half.’ So what you ask for is more like you saying I had to stay in the car. Then you agree with me when I say no, and you end up with what you really wanted in the first place.”

  How’d she figure that out? “No.” Jack scoffed and made a face. “You’re way overthinking.” I gotta come up with another technique.

  Jack stopped before the door and moved Replacement to the left side behind him. He lowered his voice and whispered, “Doorknob is on the left and the door opens in,” he started to explain, “so you want to stand to the left side in a knock-and-talk.”

  Replacement giggled. “A what?”

  “Seriously?” Jack glowered, and she held up her hands.

  “Sorry.”

  “I’ll explain later.” He reached out and knocked on the door.

  A minute later the door opened, and a small man stepped out. He wore jeans, cowboy boots, and a white shirt open enough to show gold chains around his neck. He looked at Jack and then out to the parking lot. “You a cop?”

  “No. I’m Jack Stratton. I’m here about Daniel Branson.”

  “I already talked to the cops.” He flung his hands out wide.

  “Let them come in.” Jack heard Sandra’s voice from inside.

  “They’re not cops,” Wade called back. “We don’t have to le
t them in.”

  “Just let them in,” Sandra said.

  Wade turned and stomped back into the apartment. Sandra was wrapped in a comforter on a couch with a box of tissues next to her. Her eyes were red and bloodshot. She glanced up as they walked in. “I’m sorry about the other day.” She sniffed.

  Jack barely understood her words before she sobbed and blew her nose.

  The apartment was a one bedroom with wall-to-wall dark-gray carpeting. The grayish-white walls and the drawn window shades made it feel gloomy.

  “My condolences for your loss.” Jack angled his head. “I need to ask you a few questions.”

  “You’re not the cops.” Wade stood near the edge of the couch. “Who are you?”

  “Jack Stratton. This is Alice Campbell. We’re with Replacement Investigations. We’re looking into the murder of Daniel Branson.”

  Sandra nodded. “What do you want to know?”

  I need to split them up. I want to ask Sandra about an old boyfriend, but with the jerk of a new boyfriend here she’s not going to be too forthcoming. He’s a scrawny guy, but I don’t want Replacement talking to him alone either.

  Jack looked down at the pack of cigarettes on the table, but he didn’t see an ashtray. “Wade, I’m just going to ask Sandra a couple of questions, and then I was hoping to talk to you for just a little bit. Do you smoke?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I just thought this whole thing has to be a little stressful, and if you wanted to go for a smoke break, now would be the time.” Jack’s open hand pointed to the door.

  Wade looked at Sandra, who made a face and then nodded. He grabbed his pack of cigarettes off the table, touched her foot under the blanket and said, “I’ll be right outside, okay?” Then he hurried out the door.

  I’ve got five minutes. “Sandra, I’m very sorry about Daniel, but I need to ask you some questions about him.”

  “He was the nicest man.” Her sob almost drowned out Replacement’s exhale.

  Jack shot Replacement a quick glare. “I’m sure he was. But being a guy, I know sometimes you don’t get along with everyone.”

  “He got along with everybody. Daniel didn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

  “How about work? Did he ever mention anyone at work he didn’t get along with?”