A Very Nefarious Christmas (6 page)

* * *

Dee made it to the shop in record time. She came through the back door and Willie looked at her in shock.

“I thought you were staying home?” exclaimed Willie, confused. “Didn’t you say Jack is sick and you had to take care of him?”

“Sure did,” said Dee abruptly. “I left him alone. He spit his tea out and yelled at me to clean it up. Knowing my husband, he’s called his mother or sister to come bring him soda. I had no idea he was hung over; I gave him tea like I would have given my dad. I wasn’t the one who stayed out all night drinking and doing God-knows-what.” Dee took off her coat and hung it on a hook. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall. I put up with that crap in Maryland. This is supposed to be my fresh start. Jack’s a big boy. You know, if it turns out that he didn’t call mommy or Kima to help him, I’ll be nice after work and bring him home some soda.”

Willie didn’t know what to say so she wisely changed the subject. “We got more coats donated today. Oh, and I sold a painting too! You sold some of those mugs you made. The lady would like two flower pots to match. Dee, you’re getting known for your pottery.” The proud mama-like tone in her voice made Dee smile finally.

The day passed fairly quickly and the two were just about to close up when the phone rang. Dee glared at it, suspicious of who it might be, so Willie picked it up instead.

“Hello, W and D, Art by the Sea. How can I help you?” After a second of listening, she handed the phone to Dee and whispered, “It’s Kima.”

Dee took the phone slowly, hoping her sister-in-law wouldn’t yell at her.    

“Hi, Kima, what’s up?” She tried to keep her voice steady and calm. “Your mom took him to the doctor’s? Oh shit, yeah, I’m on my home now. Thanks for the heads up.” She hung up the phone and grabbed her coat in a hurry. “Kima says Jack may have mononucleosis or strep throat,” she explained to a concerned-faced Willie. “His mother took him to the doctor’s. They’re testing him. I really hope he doesn’t, mostly because of Melora. You better keep an eye on her, Kima said. Shit … This is going to fuck up me doing much about all the Christmas plans, Willie. I’m sorry. Can you tell Black Dog about Jack being sick? My mother-in-law went shopping for food and is waiting for me to get home so she can leave. I don’t know when I’ll be able to work, either.”

Willie’s eyes widened and she stepped back, her hands immediately covering her stomach, thinking of her unborn baby.

“I’ll tell BD. Try to stay well, Dee.
You
don’t feel sick … do you?” Willie nervously questioned Dee.

Dee had her keys out and was by the door. “I’m fine, but I’ll go crazy taking care of Jack. It’s a good thing you talked me into putting the potter’s wheel and kiln at the house. I’ll keep myself sane by staying busy. I’ll call you later.” She hurried out, leaving Willie in a state of worry, locking up the shop alone.

Willie had made arrangements for Black Dog to pick up Melora from Elena’s house. On the drive home, she wondered how in the hell she was going to do everything without Dee’s help.  She wasn’t very close to most of the women; mainly just Dusty, Dee, Kelly, and Tears, who was a newcomer. Maybe they had taken on too much. She hoped Black Dog had a plan, because she sure as hell didn’t.

She parked the car and walked into the house, immediately going to Melora and putting her hand on her daughter’s head. The child’s head was cool to the touch and she seemed fine. Sighing, she took off her coat and flung it over a chair.

Black Dog looked at her oddly. “Willie, what’s up with you?”

She told it to him straight. “Jack may have mono or strep throat. Kima called the shop and Dee rushed home. I was checking to see if Mel had a fever.”

Black Dog stared at her, shocked. “Jack has mono or strep? Shit!”

“How am I going to do all of this without Deidra around?” Willie went on. “I was counting on her help.” She couldn’t hide the stress and exhaustion in her voice.

“Baby, I need to go out. I know you just got in but it’s club business. Why don’t you call for a pizza and try to relax?”

Black Dog already had his leather on: the Nefarious skull with the raven patch stretched across the back that seemed to stare at Willie. She nodded at him, wordless, then let BD briefly kiss her before he was out the door. Standing by the window, she amused herself by hoping the club was getting her a magical elf because she sure as hell needed either that or a damn miracle.

* * *

What a pain in the ass all of this was, thought Black Dog, as he drove to Dirty Deeds club. He would use Darko’s office and try to contact his brothers through the bar and phone there. Somewhere, Darko had phone numbers stashed. He didn’t know how they’d be pulling off the Winter Festival now. The damn turkey heist might be on hold, too. That was Mad Jack’s deal. There was no way in hell he was going to steal turkeys.

He couldn’t think straight and turned off the radio. Fucking Darko should be here making sure things were taken care of, not taking Dusty on a vacation. He bit the inside of his cheek and tasted blood. He was the vice president and he had to pull this off. He wasn’t going to call Hammer for help. He’d get Swiper, Moose, Thorn, and JJ together—the bros who actually used their brains. Mad Jack was just one of many bros in this club. Another brother would have to step up, that much he knew.

He pulled into the parking lot and saw just the man he needed: Swiper. He was supposed to be great at swiping stuff, as was suggested by his name. Black Dog smiled grimly. Swiper hated birds. Birds shit on his car and motorcycle all the time. Swiper swore up and down that the whole avian species had it in for him. Oh man … He was going to
love
stealing a truckload of frozen turkeys for sure.

Swiper was heading into Dirty Deeds as Black Dog caught up to him.

“A word, bro, before we go inside.” Swiper lifted an eyebrow, listening. “Mad Jack is real sick, so the turkey deal is on you now. Moose can help you.” He saw the disappointment in Swiper’s face and addressed it at once. “I’ve got no other choice, Swipe. Look at it this way: at least they’re frozen-as-fuck dead birds.” He tried to joke with his head SAA, who only stared back in disbelief.

Swiper shook his head. “Nope. I ain’t doing it. I can’t stand Maynard and Orson. You
gotta
use those two? What about Gunny or RePete? I don’t steal that kinda shit. I break into buildings and offices, Dog. I do big time jobs, bad ass jobs—not
bird stealing.
Get Moose to do it. Tell Jack to get his lazy butt outta bed. This was his idea, anyway. I don’t give a flying fuck if the turkeys are dead. I hate birds and they hate me too. This will get all fucked up. Birds are bad luck. I don’t even eat fowl! You know that!”

Black Dog hated to pull rank on his old friend. “Got no choice. Don’t make me pull rank, bro. I need you on this. All you have to do is make sure it goes smoothly and you get the turkeys back here.”

The look on Swiper’s face was stinging and dark. “You’re bringing stolen frozen turkeys to Darko’s bar? Hell no. You want a bullet in your head? Why would you bring them here?”

Black Dog had already thought about that. “It’s the only place big enough to store them. I need the walk-in freezers. Fuck. I guess I need a new place. Who has a freezer big enough to put them?”

“Shit … Thorn would, but it might be fishy-smelling. He keeps frozen chum and bait in those freezers. However, that would be better than the club, I reckon. If the pigs came to the club and found the turkeys, Darko could lose the bar. You better get ahold of Thorn. I’ll drive out there to Old Coots farm, but that’s it, Dog. I hate birds and it’s gonna freak me out the entire time. You owe me brother, big time.” He narrowed his eyes at Black Dog. “Got me?”

Black Dog raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? I owe ya, huh? Who introduced you to that chick, April, you’re chasing all over? I’d say this makes us even. Now, let’s go see who’s around and let Thorn know he’ll be guarding turkeys.”

They entered the bar and found Maynard and Oreo arguing over the dart board. Swiper glared at Black Dog as he went over to stop the squabbling in front of the paying customers. He saw April dancing on the stage and gave her a big grin.

Bernie hurried over to Black Dog. “Those assholes have been out of control all night. Bugging the dancers and not paying for drinks … People have been leaving because of them! Kelly and Moose are in the office with the door locked and Darko has been calling the bar asking for you.” He was jumpy and looked overworked.

“Yeah, Swiper will handle it. Thanks, Bernie. You thinking of a name yet? If we get this shit pulled off, I’m gonna see you get your patch. Mad Jack is out; he’s sick as a dog and we may have some change of plans. I need you to get Thorn to come out here while I get Moose and Kelly out of the office. Fucking Moose is supposed to be helping Swiper not playing with Kelly. Shouldn’t she be dancing?”

Bernie wasn’t going to add more shit to the pot by telling Black Dog any more than he already had. “I’ll call Thorn. I’m not really clear on who’s doing what anymore, Dog. It’s a total cluster fuck tonight.” He hurried away, leaving Black Dog grinning. Hell, Bernie might make a good brother; he didn’t really rat much unless he had to.

* * *

Finally, Black Dog had Swiper, JJ, Thorn, Moose, Oreo, Maynard, Bernie, Toker, and Tread in the office. Jelly Belly was on his way, but they could start without him.

Black Dog was pacing as the men waited for him to begin. They weren’t drinking and they were used to Darko’s leadership, but this was their vice president before them. They had to do what he told them to or face Darko’s wrath when he got back. None of them wanted to go against Black Dog either; he was a mean motherfucker when he had to be.

“We’ve got problems,” Black Dog finally said. “Mad Jack is really sick. We’re waiting to find out if he has mono or strep throat. Swiper and Moose are taking over the turkey deal. Thorn, I need your walk-in freezers for the turkeys. You good with that?”

Thorn nodded. “I’ll get ‘em as cleaned up as I can. How many turkeys should I expect?” He glanced at Maynard and hoped he knew.

Maynard looked uncomfortable. “I … never loaded ‘em into the trucks myself, but I’d say a small truck would be … maybe a few hundred.” He tried to work it out in his head, picturing it. “I guess it depends on if they’re going to a local store or a supermarket. We should grab the small truck because what the hell would we do with hundreds of frozen turkeys?”

Orson glared at him. “We gotta grab the truck that’s there, you idiot. It isn’t like we can walk up and say, ‘Hey, we need a hundred frozen turkeys! Can ya point out the truck we can have?’ Fuck that. I’m grabbing whatever truck I can get without getting caught. We take what we need and leave the rest. We better be doing this soon, too. People need to thaw them, and Christmas is close. I say we do it evening of the Christmas party for the club kids. We all got alibis with the kids around and Jelly dressed as Santa.” He said his piece and crossed his arms.

Black Dog seemed to like that idea just fine. “Makes sense Oreo. I like the way you think. Now, let’s talk about the Winter Festival at the Lodge. The snow has put a damper on decorating and cleaning up out there. Oreo is right: we’re running out of time. I was thinking we could use Willie and Dee’s shop. We get Jelly and Maggie out there as Santa and Mrs. Claus. It will bring in the families. I ain’t liking asking any of those Bound for Hell chicks for their horses. Willie can use Picasso if she wants to charge for rides. I know Elena would give us whatever we asked for, but this is
our
thing, not theirs. Anyone got anything to add?” He lit up a smoke and looked around at the bikers, just as Jelly Belly hurried into the room. “Jelly you’re always late. We’ve got a change of plans. You and Maggie will be at W and D, Art by the Sea. No time to decorate the Lodge with this snow, and we’re supposed to get some more. Maggie working on your Santy suit?” Black Dog’s eyes twinkled at the miserable look on Jelly’s face.

“She made it fit … and she made herself a dress. Next year, I’m shaving off this white beard. Never again am I being Santy Claus. You’re still having elves, right?” Jelly was looking at the prospects with an evil look.

Tread stood up to stretch his legs. “It will bring more money in, having the bake sale there. It’s also safer from the Filthy Fiends. I’ll let the cops I know in Beach View and Ocean View know what we’re doing. If we give them a heads-up, they’ll have traffic control and officers around. We want this to go right, so we need to use the law to our advantage. JJ, do you talk to John Regan still?”

“I can talk to John,” JJ answered. “I’ve got no problem with any of the Regan’s. Why?”

“Doesn’t he own that shopping strip? If he says we’re good, we won’t get shit from the other store owners. There is an empty lot across the street for parking. Dog gets it plowed out, we can charge for parking. Jelly, I think you and Maggie will be the center of attention. You two will make the newspaper. Think how good that will be for you, if you ever get in trouble? It’s great publicity for the club too. Quit your bitchin’, bro.” Tread was usually the voice of reason. “Let’s go see what Maggie’s made your suit look like. I got some blonde hash we can try out. You coming, Toker?” Jelly looked happier and the three bikers left in great spirits.