JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER Page 8

  At least one other person is in the other room.

  The music suddenly stopped and everyone jumped up. A wide-eyed man ran over, pulled the shade partway back, and looked Jack up and down as his eyes got even larger. His hand mashed the blinds closed.

  Jack couldn’t make out the words of the frantic conversation harshly whispered by the men inside. He rang the doorbell and stepped back and to the left.

  The whispering increased. Someone started to pull the blinds open, but they were abruptly yanked closed. Jack rang the doorbell a second time. The voices got louder as they moved to just behind the door. Jack heard what they were saying.

  “Don’t open the door, Ricky,” someone warned.

  “I’ll get rid of him.”

  “Don’t say nothing.”

  The door opened with a scraping sound and a medium-built guy in his early twenties glared at Jack.

  “Yeah?” he snarled.

  Jack saw the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

  “Hi, Ricky.” Jack set an informal tone and smiled. He guessed the guy opening the door was Ricky, and judging from the stunned look on his face, he guessed correctly. “I’m just dropping off this paperwork that Lawrence forgot to sign.” He held out the envelope.

  Ricky blinked a couple of times before his mouth ticked into a grin. He grabbed the envelope and his head started to turn toward the living room before he froze.

  “Wait. Ah…Lawrence isn’t here,” Ricky stuttered.

  Bingo. “Seriously, Ricky?” Jack caught the closing door. “I have no time for this. Tell Lawrence to get his butt out here or—”

  “You can’t come in.” A short guy with a crew cut and two gold teeth hurried into the hallway and stopped. “You need a warrant.” He pointed at Jack.

  “Ricky.” Jack dropped his voice even lower. “Do you want to handle this the easy way?”

  “Close the door. Don’t talk to him, Ricky.” Gold Teeth waved his hand. “Don’t say nothing.”

  “Seriously, Ricky.” Jack smiled. “We can be done with this in a minute or—”

  “Or what? Huh?” Gold Teeth crossed his arms in front of himself. “You can’t come in. No warrant, no entry.”

  “Yeah.” Ricky pushed on the door. “You can’t do anything.”

  A smirk formed on Jack’s face as he easily kept the door open with one hand while Ricky struggled against it. “That’s where you’re wrong, Ricky. See, if you don’t send Lawrence out, I’m going to bring an army here.”

  Ricky nervously looked to Gold Teeth, but he just scoffed. “He ain’t got no army. He’s no cop. He’s probably not even a real bounty hunter. There’s only one of him. Bounty hunters always go in at least pairs. Solo? Close the door.”

  “This is your last chance, Ricky.”

  “He ain’t here. Now get out of my house.” Ricky started to press even harder against the door and Jack let it slowly close.

  Jack heard the deadbolt slide into place, followed by laughter and clapping hands. Reaching into his pocket, Jack grabbed his phone and walked back to the car.

  After two rings, a woman answered. “Hello?”

  “It’s Jack. He’s at Ricky’s.”

  CLICK.

  Jack smiled, leaned back against the Charger, and folded his arms.

  Fifteen minutes.

  Jack stood in front of the house and made a big show of waiting. The music turned back on and the windows vibrated once more. Jack unlocked the back door of the Charger, leaned against the car, and watched the front door.

  After a few minutes, the blinds partially opened and someone peeked out. The blinds closed and then someone turned the music up. Down the block, a sedan blew through a stop sign and barreled toward him. A big SUV followed right behind and a mini-van brought up the rear.

  Jack smiled.

  The sedan drove right up on the grass and slammed to a stop. The other two cars parked on the street. Ten peeved-off women poured out of the vehicles and formed a mob on the front lawn. Elizabeth stood with her feet planted wide apart, and Mia stayed by her side. The women in the rainbow colors of dresses and a few new ones formed a half-circle behind them.

  Elizabeth spun around to face Jack. “Is he inside?” Her eyes looked ready to pop out of her head, and her whole body quivered.

  Jack grinned. “Yep. Two of you should go around back to make sure he doesn’t try to run out that way.”

  Three women hurriedly waddled around back while the others stormed the front door better than any SWAT team. Elizabeth took point and pounded on the door. He tried to see who opened it but the crowd trampling in blocked his view.

  The music shut off and screams and swears flew. Something broke. Four of the guys raced from the house and ran outside. After a minute, Ricky flew out with his mother screaming right behind him. Jack couldn’t make out exactly what she shrieked, but every couple of words she swatted him across the back of his head.

  With a mixture of disbelief and humiliation, Ricky gawked at Jack while he tried to shield his head from her smacking. “You called my mother?”

  “Don’t you say anything to him! He was right to call me. You lied right to your momma’s face. You looked me in the eye and lied.” Ricky’s mother swatted the back of his head again. “What else have you been lying about? What else?”

  The rest of the women appeared in the doorway and dragged Lawrence from the building. Yellow’s hand tightly gripped his hair while Pink held him by the back of his shirt and pants like a bouncer tossing a drunk out of a bar. They screamed, slapped, and berated him.

  “Don’t leave marks,” Jack yelled as he opened the back door of the Charger. “I’ll have to explain them.”

  Lawrence strained to make it to the safety of the car as the women got in a few more shots and hurled more insults. When Jack shut the door, the mob continued to yell through the window, but Elizabeth turned to look at Jack.

  As he watched Lawrence’s mother, he saw the emotions race across her face like a fast-moving storm. The anger quickly turned to relief that soured into dismay. Her baby’s going to jail. Here comes the rain.

  Her lip trembled once and she lost it. Elizabeth’s head flung back and she wailed. Huge tears flew from her eyes as she spun around and reached out for comfort. The mob that had been so intent on capturing Lawrence transformed into a support group once again as they circled the crying woman. They rubbed her shoulders and their voices softened.

  Jack slowly made his way around to the driver’s side while the group walked Elizabeth to her car. Suddenly, she whipped back around and raced over to Jack.

  “Momma,” Lawrence yelled through the closed window. “Don’t do this, Momma.”

  Elizabeth pushed forward to stand next to the car.

  “Momma, please,” Lawrence begged. “I didn’t do it. It’s not my fault, Momma.”

  “Wait. Wait.” She grabbed hold of Jack’s arm. “He’ll be okay, right? You’ll take care of him?” Her hands clasped together, and she held them up to her mouth.

  Jack nodded. “I need to take him in. Once he gets processed, if Titus agrees, you can bond him back out, but…he’s going to run again.”

  The woman’s lip quivered. Mia came up and put her arm around her shoulder. Mia mouthed, “Thank you,” and led Elizabeth back to the car.

  Jack jumped into the Charger, started it up, and took off. In the rearview mirror, he saw Elizabeth turn and take a couple of steps after the car. She stretched her arms out and cried.

  Lawrence shook his head in the backseat and put his hands up to his ears. Jack gripped the steering wheel and then flipped the rearview mirror back up.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  I Need a Favor

  Jack sat in his car on L Street and looked back and forth between the two strip clubs. Both the La Jolla on the left and the Bare Necessities on the right were old bars that had been converted in the 80s. Jack sat and watched the men who entered. His vantage point allowed him to keep an eye on the entrance to the adult vide
o store next to Bare Necessities, too.

  He glanced at the clock: 10:53 p.m. After sitting there for over five hours, his side throbbed. The guys he saw scurry into the clubs and then stumble drunkenly out afterward weren’t helping his mood.

  Jack had already talked to the doormen at all three places. None of them had seen Grease-E and none were fans of him either. They grabbed Jack’s business card all too eagerly at just the prospect of Grease-E getting carted off to prison.

  A car pulled up beside him and a young girl got out. Pretty, twenty-one-year-old, and wearing a simple dress, Jack would never have guessed she was a stripper if it weren’t for the cowgirl costume with Velcro straps she carried over her shoulder. She kissed the young guy driving and hurried inside. The guy pulled away the second she turned around, not even waiting until she got inside. Jack’s fingers drummed the dashboard. Men don’t feel comfortable walking in this neighborhood at night and Scumbag drops her off here in the middle of the street. That’s the least of it. He knows where she’s going. He knows she’s going to go take her clothes off for a bunch of drunk guys but he still brings her here to do it.

  Jack had seen the pattern too many times. Guys like that scumbag are vampires who leach off girls. He’ll take all her money and she’ll give him everything she has, but it won’t be enough. One morning, she’ll wake up and he’ll be gone, but all the sweet goodness in her will be sucked dry.

  Besides a raid or a disturbance call, Jack had never gone into a strip club—even in the Army. He never looked at porn. After his streetwalker mother abandoned him, there was always this fear he’d open the magazine and she’d be in it. His stomach curled at the thought. As he got older, he thought about the fact that those girls were someone’s mother, sister, or daughter. That was enough to keep his eyes off any of that crap.

  He knew that the girl who just ran into La Jolla had a thousand possible reasons for stripping, but he wasn’t going to go along with it.

  His phone rang and he smiled. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hi, honey,” his adopted mother said in a fake low voice.

  “That’s a pretty poor imitation of Dad, Mom.” Jack laughed.

  “I borrowed his phone,” she confessed. “I was thinking about you and wanted to call and let you know how much we love you.”

  Her thinking about me means I haven’t called enough and she was worried. “I love you too, Mom. How are you both?”

  “We’re doing great but we miss you. You’re not overdoing it, are you?”

  “No, Mom. I’m following doctor’s orders.”

  “You mean, Alice?” His mother laughed. “How is she?”

  “She’s good. I’m thinking about taking her with me and coming down to see you.”

  “That’d be lovely. I’ll have to get the guest room ready and—”

  “Mom, stop. I don’t want to put you out. We can get a hotel—”

  “Nonsense. You’ll do no such thing. Do you think you’ll come soon?”

  “I’ll try. I…” Jack’s voice trailed off as he watched an older prostitute he hadn’t seen before round the corner and slowly walk along the edge of the street.

  “I don’t want to bother you, honey,” his mom said. “I can tell you’re in the middle of something. I just wanted to tell you we love you.”

  “I love you, Mom. Tell Dad I love him, too. Bye-bye.”

  Talk to one more and then I’ll go home.

  He tossed open his door and groaned as he got out of the car.

  The woman’s eyes narrowed as he approached. Jack tried to meet her gaze, but she stared at him suspiciously. He gave a little nod and stopped a few feet away from her. When he spoke, he tried to soften his voice. “Hi. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?”

  “You’re a cop.” Her eyes darted around and she looked ready to bolt.

  “No. I need a favor, though.”

  “You?” Her voice rose, along with her eyebrows. “You want to pay for it?”

  “Not that kind of favor.” Jack stammered and then coughed. “I’m looking for a guy.”

  Her neck lengthened and her hands went to her hips. “I’m a girl,” she snapped.

  “No, no—I’m trying to find Eddie Porter.”

  “Eddie who?”

  “Porter.” Jack fumbled with the wanted poster in his pocket. “He goes by—”

  “Grease-E! That good-for-nothing lowlife scum sucker. Are you friends? He stiffed me for a—”

  “No. I’m trying to find him because he skipped bond.”

  Her hands flopped at her sides and she gave Jack a look that screamed you should have just told me. “If I knew where Grease-E was, I’d put a bow on his slimy head and give him to you.”

  “When’s the last time you saw him?”

  She tilted her head and squished up her face. “Five days ago?” She nodded. “Yeah, it was three days before yesterday. I gave him a—”

  “I don’t need details.” Jack took a business card from his pocket and a twenty. “What’s your name?”

  “Debra. But everyone calls me Da Jewel.” She grinned and did a mini-curtsy.

  “That’s nice. Is he a regular?”

  “Unfortunately. None of the other girls wanna touch him, but a buck’s a buck, right?” She shrugged.

  “Is there a particular night he comes by or is it random?”

  “He’s on assistance so he comes every check day.”

  Jack tried not to make a disgusted face. Good use of my tax dollars. “When’s the next check day?”

  She scrunched up her face again. “Two days.” She grinned.

  “Debra, I need you to do me a favor, okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

  “I’m going to give you twenty dollars now.” As he handed the card and money to her, her hand shot out and snagged the cash with lightning speed. “You call me if you see him and there will be more.”

  “How much?” She took two huge steps forward and the cloud of perfume that followed her hit Jack square in the face.

  Jack tried not to cough.

  You need the money, Jack. She’s not a charity case. Twenty bucks will do it. Say twenty bucks. “Fifty.” Stupid softy.

  She smiled so warmly Jack felt his mouth tick up.

  A man cleared his throat behind Jack. “What does she have to do for that fifty dollars?”

  Because of the tone, Jack knew the man’s profession before he looked back. He slowly turned around and gave a sideways smile to the older cop who frowned at him. The cop looked over Jack’s shoulder and waved Da Jewel forward.

  “Come on, Debra. Go stand over at the wall while I call it in.”

  “Call it in?” Jack repeated before his eyes flew wide. “WAIT A SECOND,” he shouted. “You don’t think…? I wasn’t…I—”

  “Save it, pal.” The cop reached for his shoulder radio. “I saw you solicit.”

  “SOLICIT? NO.” Jack held up both hands and quickly read his badge. “Reed, I’m working for Titus Bail Bonds.”

  “Sure.” Reed scoffed, but his hand stayed off the radio.

  “In my front pocket is the certificate. I’m looking for Eddie Porter.”

  “Grease-E?” Reed’s eyes flashed. “They let him out again?”

  Jack nodded and returned the look of frustration. “Sucks. We put them in, they get right out.”

  “We?” Reed inhaled. “You’re not a cop, you’re—sorry. That wasn’t called for. You said you’re a bail bondsman?”

  “I work for Titus Bail Bonds. Jack Stratton.”

  “Delmar Reed. Jack Stratton?” He tilted his head and examined Jack’s face. “Wait a second, you’re the cop from Darrington.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You were just on the Vitagliano kidnapping, right? Your picture was all over the news. You got shot, right?”

  “Yeah.” Jack resisted the urge to touch his side.

  Delmar’s shoulders went up. “Then why are you saying you’re working for Titus?”

&nbs
p; Jack paused for a second before he decided to just tell the truth without any spin. “I’m not on the job right now.”

  “Medical leave?” Delmar guessed.

  Jack shook his head. “I decided to try something else for a little while.”

  Delmar’s lips pressed together and he searched Jack’s face. After a minute, he nodded. “Sorry, man.”

  “It is what it is. Do you know Eddie?” Jack asked.

  “I’ve arrested him so many times I should give him frequent flyer miles. He’s a weasel.”

  “Have you seen him?”

  “Not lately, but you’re looking in the right place. Grease-E comes down here for…” Delmar’s voice trailed off as he looked around.

  Jack scanned up and down the street and frowned. Da Jewel’s gone. “Damn. I told her I’d give her the fifty to keep an eye out for Grease-E for me.”

  “Did you give her a phone number?” Delmar asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t sweat it, Jack. If she sees Grease-E, she’ll call.”

  Jack clicked his tongue. “Why do you think so?”

  Delmar smiled knowingly. “’Cause she hates Grease-E more than I do.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Nosykins

  Jack walked up to his apartment door and stopped. The Beast. I hope she has it locked in her room. He reached out for the knob, but the dog barked furiously before his hand even touched the handle. Terrific.

  “One second,” Replacement called out.

  Jack started to open the door.

  “Wait.”

  “I’d like to come into my own apartment.”

  “Hold on,” Replacement shouted again. “Just one second. All right. Come in.”

  Jack twisted the knob and gave the door a push. The door swung open. Replacement stood with her feet apart and her hands proudly clamped together in front of herself. The dog sat on its haunches next to her as it watched Jack.

  Jack smiled as Replacement grinned at him. “Is Beast good?” he asked.

  “Don’t call her that.” Replacement frowned. “Nosykins is being very well behaved.”

  “Nosy…what?” Jack laughed. “I’ll stick with Beast. Can I come in yet?”