A Time For Justice (11 page)

Kovaks shook his head, pushed on towards the door.

‘
What about the Mafia connection?’ she probed
deeper.

Kovaks still had nothing to say.

‘
Where does Corelli come into it? And Danny Carver? I hear
Danny was killed in the bombing. Is it all connected with a drugs
deal they were pulling? Is this the beginning of a gang
war?’

They had reached the revolving door. Kovaks stopped. ‘I don’t
know what you’re talking about, Lisa. I’ve no comment to make to
you about anything. And I never will have - OK?’

‘
C’mon Joe, give me a break. This is big stuff,’ she pleaded.
‘For old time’s sake, huh?’

‘
It’s because of old time’s sake that I’ve nothing to say.
Bye.’

In the car park the two agents walked towards Kovaks’
Trans-am. ‘Can I ask you a question?’ Sue said.

‘
Sure.’

‘
You been sleeping with Lisa Want?’

‘
It was a mistake,’ Kovaks openly admitted to Sue. They were
being escorted through the corridors of Dade County Correctional
Institute. ‘I nearly lost my job over her. We were into a
relationship but all she was doing was pumping me for information.
Like a fool, I gave her some ... pillow talk, and she used it as
the bottom line for a scoop. It was pretty obvious where her
information had come from. I got hauled before the Deputy Director
and disciplined, while Lisa got the

chief reporter’s job. I learned a lesson.’ He shrugged
philosophically. ‘We split up, and now I’ll never trust another
journalist as long as I live, even if they tell me they love me.
They’ll do anything just for that big story. Particularly Lisa
Want. She’d sleep with her own mother if she thought there was a
by-line in it.’

The prison guard in front of them unlocked the door to a
visiting room. He allowed the two FBI agents to enter then locked
it behind them.

A table, screwed to the floor, stood in the middle of the
room. There were three chairs. A window of toughened glass
overlooked a bare exercise yard.

The heavy metal door on the opposite side of the room led
through to the innards of the prison. It was locked.

High in one corner of the room, out of reach but protected by
a wire-mesh cage, was a security camera.

Kovaks and Sue sat down. They said nothing, looked expectantly
at the door, waited.

It was a short wait. A key turned in the lock. Bolts were
drawn back. The door, well-oiled, opened silently.

A prison warder appeared, followed by an inmate and another
warder. The warders withdrew to the back of the room where they
leaned against the wall, chatting quietly to each other. The inmate
took the third chair.

Kovaks considered the man carefully. He was white, in his
early thirties, and big - six feet four. But he wasn’t fat. Through
the ill-fitting prison garb Kovaks could see he was keeping himself
in shape. The bulges were all muscle. His biceps were enormous and
the veins stood out on them like strands of steel rope.

Kovaks said, ‘Remember me, Whisper?’

The big man nodded. ‘Never forget a face,’ he said. The sound
of his voice, as his name suggested, was a hoarse, rasping whisper,
like a knife-blade scraping stone. Kovaks knew it was the result of
receiving a blow to the throat in a street fight as a teenager. The
damage to his voice box made him seem all the more
sinister.

Kovaks also knew that the boy who’d hit him all those years
ago had taken a knife through the heart.

Kovaks pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Whisper
took them without a word of thanks. He lit one - a Marlboro -
inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly.

Kovaks retrieved the lighter.

‘
You can keep the cigarettes.’

Whisper nodded slight acknowledgement. ‘So what the fuck d’you
want, Agent Kovaks?’

‘
I’d like your help.’ Kovaks knew there was no point in being
coy.

‘
I’ve been to see the Special Agent in charge of the Miami
field office and spoken to the Deputy Director about you this
morning.’

‘
Lucky you,’ rasped Whisper.

‘
If you cooperate with us today to my satisfaction he’ll make
representations at your parole board to get the maximum reduction
in your sentence.’

‘
Which means that, whatever happens, I’ll still be in here for
another five years.’

‘
That’s true,’ Kovaks said. ‘But on the other hand, you could
be in here for another twelve.’

Whisper blinked. ‘I won’t help you.’

‘
You don’t know what we want.’

‘
I won’t help you,’ he reaffirmed. ‘I don’t help the law,
particularly Feds.’

‘
Just like Corelli ain’t helpin’ you?’

‘
I don’t know what you mean, bud.’

‘
Look, Whisper, we know you were working for him, taking all
the risks for him, running the gauntlet with us and the DEA every
time you came in with a plane-load of dope. And when you got caught
he dropped you like a hot potato. Don’t try to deny it now. We know
you worked for him, Whisper, we know.’

‘
You don’t know nothing.’ Whisper’s voice grated with a
sneer.

‘
We
know.
.
.’ Kovaks’ voice trailed off into thin air, leaving the words
hanging there. ‘And what’s he done to help you,
Whisper?’

‘
I don’t know what or who you’re talking about, asshole.’
Whisper took a deep drag of his cigarette, tossed it onto the floor
and ground it out. ‘End of discussion.’

He placed two hands on the table, pushed himself up. He
towered briefly over the seated Kovaks. ‘Bye bye, Agent Asshole,’
he hissed. He turned and walked to the door.

Kovaks hadn’t expected such an abrupt end to the proceedings.
Something had to be done.

‘
Maybe he can’t do much to help you in here,’ he said to
Whisper’s retreating back, ‘but he could at least help Laura out
there, couldn’t he? Laura and your daughter Cassie.’ Kovaks was
desperate. He was losing here and something had to be done to save
the situation.

Whisper stopped in his tracks. He revolved slowly. His
expression struck fear into Kovaks’ heart.

‘
Yeah, that’s right,’ Kovaks pushed on, seeing he’d struck a
chord. ‘He’s done nothing for her - other than exploit her. She was
a real good-looker, your Laura. And she was clean, even though you
were pushin’ those drugs. Not now, baby, not fuckin’
now!’

‘
What are you saying?’

‘
She’s one of Corelli’s hookers. Working downtown Miami in a
sleazy club where the customer can get a five-minute blow job for
fifty dollars. I’ve heard she does a hundred a night. Washes her
mouth out between each one with antiseptic.’

‘
Liar,’ Whisper said.

‘
Now she’s a smack-head. A crack addict. With no money. Living
in a shitty one-bedroom apartment over a grocery store with no
amenities and your precious daughter on the at-risk register. The
state is seriously considering taking her off Laura. That’s how
much Corelli’s looked after your interests. He used you, now he’s
using her. Why do you think she never visits you? He won’t fuckin’
let her, Whisper, ‘cos then you’ll know.’

Kovaks had pushed hard and far and he knew it. Too far, too
quickly. He had heard how deadly Whisper could be; now he found out
at first hand.

Whisper moved so fast he took everyone by surprise. Kovaks had
walked round the table as he’d talked and there was perhaps five
feet of open space and nothing else between the two men. A
mistake.

Whisper covered the gap in a movement so flowing and precise
that the next thing Kovaks knew he was on his back. Whisper’s huge
paw-like hands were around his throat, squeezing, and Kovaks’ eyes
were bulging in their sockets.

‘
Fuckin’ liar,’ Whisper said. ‘Fuckin’ liar, fuckin’ liar. .
.’

His breath washed into Kovaks’ nostrils. He began to smash the
back of Kovaks’ head repeatedly on the hard tiled floor.

Kovaks hit Whisper as hard as he could with a fist. It
connected with the left side of his head by his
ear and had no effect on the big man other than to encourage him to
tighten his grip.

The prison warders moved in to assist. They tried to prise
Whisper off, but he shrugged them away as easily as a man removing
his coat.

Kovaks’ vision began to distort. He felt faint. He knew he
was going to die here. Strangled, head smashed to pieces in a
fuckin’ prison. His ears throbbed. Vaguely he heard an alarm
sounding somewhere - a
whoop-whoop
noise. There were shouts. Screams. Footsteps
running. He began to lose consciousness.

Then Whisper’s head was yanked violently back.

He gave a yelp of surprise.

Kovaks’ swimming vision took in the huge form of Sue hovering
above him.

A big fist slammed down like a sledgehammer into Whisper’s
upturned face. His nose squelched and burst like a tomato. The fist
smashed down again. Whisper released his grip on Kovaks’ throat.
His hands went up to protect his face.

The door flew open and two more warders ran into the room,
batons drawn.

Now, four against one, even Whisper was defeated. He was
bundled off his victim in a shower of blows, punches and
kicks.

‘
You pack a good punch,’ Kovaks croaked with admiration to
Sue.

‘
I had to do something,’ she said modestly, ‘otherwise he’d’ve
killed you. Those guards were useless.’

‘
I owe you one.’

‘
My pleasure,’ she said meekly. She looked at the swollen
knuckles of her right hand. ‘I broke his nose, y’know.’

‘
You did good,’ Kovaks agreed.

They were sitting in a cubicle at the Institute’s hospital, a
curtain drawn across for the sake of privacy. Kovaks had been
treated and his throat had a bandage wrapped around it. No
permanent damage had been done, according to the doctor. His voice
was almost gone but in a few days, he was assured, everything would
be fine again. Meanwhile he’d been advised not to speak too much
and eat only soup and scrambled eggs.

The doctor drew the curtain back.

‘
Whisper wants to talk to you,’ he announced.

Kovaks and Sue exchanged a surprised glance.

‘
Where is he?’ she asked.

‘
We’ve just admitted him. He’s down on the ward, first bed on
the left.’ The doctor pointed.

‘
How is he?’ Sue enquired.

‘
He’ll live.’

Curtains had also been drawn around Whisper’s bed, denying the
other occupants of the ward a view of the prison hard man beaten to
a pulp. Kovaks and Sue ducked in and stood next to the
bed.

Whisper looked bad. A real mess.

Other than the facial injuries inflicted by Sue, the warders
had really gone to town on him. Obviously a lot of grudges had been
exorcised. His left arm, wrist and all five fingers were broken; he
had several broken ribs, as well as a smashed collarbone and a
shattered kneecap. His face and upper body were a mass of welts,
cuts, bruises and swellings. Several of the deeper cuts had been
stitched and blood dribbled out of them onto the pillow and
sheets.

His eyes were closed. His left had swollen up like a boxer’s,
round and big as a tennis ball, the colour purple. The other was
merely bruised. He opened this one and peered sideways at his
visitors.

‘
You wanted to see us,’ Kovaks managed to whisper
hoarsely.

‘
Can’t hear you,’ the big man said.

Kovaks leaned forwards, his mouth close to Whisper’s
ear.

‘
You wanted to see us.’

‘
Yeah ... why you whisperin’?’

‘
Some bastard did my throat in.’

Whisper chuckled and winced with the pain which arced through
his chest like an electric shock. When he’d reached equilibrium he
said, ‘Is it true - what you said?’

‘
It’s true.’

‘
Fuck!’

‘
Help us,’ Kovaks’ voice grated painfully, ‘and we can help
her, Whisper. We’ll get her in a re-hab scheme, set her up
somewhere else and give her some cash to start a new life with
Cassie - away from Corelli. ‘

‘
Nobody gets away from Corelli,’ said Whisper, dismissing the
idea. Then, ‘But she’s a good girl. She deserves a break. Will you
do what you say?’

‘
I will,’ said Kovaks, nodding.

‘
If you don’t, I’ll kill you when I get out of here ... after
I’ve killed Corelli. ‘

‘
I said I will,’ said Kovaks, believing him.

‘
So what d’you want?’

Kovaks held out his hand. Sue gave him the photos.

‘
Who is this guy?’ Kovaks held the prints so Whisper could see
them without having to move. ‘We need to know -
urgently.’

Whisper looked hard at the photographs with his good eye. His
breathing was painful and laboured. The analgesics were only just
beginning to take effect.