Hard Case VI: The Killer Inside (John Harding Book 6) (4 page)

“That is not a done deal yet, so I was waiting for confirmation before discussing the terms with you two.” Let’s see how that angle works.

Lora shut off the movie. “I see you have an iced glass of courage in one hand, and a chaser in the other. I don’t have to be a mind reader to figure you’re blurring the thought of Monday in the Bay as shark bait with your twin torturers poking you with poles.”

I sat down with a sigh, sipping my Beam brother with that very blurring notion in mind. The woman does know me. “It might be I’m signing a contract at The Warehouse tomorrow. Want to have dinner there?”

“You mean like before that horrible fight with Marko Hristov?”

“It won’t be like when those two came with Alexi. They had another agenda Denny needed to find out about. Plus, Alexi wanted to keep control of the ports. We wanted that too, so the fight had to take place. We had a nice dinner though.”

“Along with Marko letting you know his intention of killing you in the fight,” Lora replied.

“And he asked if he could come here after the match to see us,” Al added.

“And,” I reminded Al, “you said sure, if Marko could still walk. As it turned out, he couldn’t. Like I said it was a special case with the fight tied into the terrorist business.”

“Marko nearly blinded you, and you killed him,” Lora countered. “Would you mind if we waited for you to finish your contract dealings, and then went somewhere else for dinner?”

“No. I’m-”

“Mom! I want to see Marla, and Uncle Tommy. It’s funny when we have dinner with Uncle Tommy. Will he bring Aunt Rachel this time?”

“I can ask. Your Mom’s probably right about my bringing you two along when I’m meeting a fighter and his manager for the first time though.”

“I want to see who you’re fighting, Dad. We know what you do. Mom’s having an attack of the ‘guilts’ because I might be exposed to something violent like almost happened with that Marko guy. All the police stop in there. Nothing will happen, Mom.”

“Your Mom’s right this time, Al. We’ll go in for dinner there tomorrow. I like The Warehouse food well enough to eat there every night. We’ll take the ferry to Pier 39, and have clam chowder in a bread bowl at Fisherman’s Grotto. You said their clam chowder was your favorite.”

“Okay… that does sound good. We can come home after dark so we see all the lights from the ferry while we pull away from the dock. The bridge looks eerie from the boat at night.”

“Nicely done, Cheese.”

“I’m able to turn a bad moment into a good one occasionally. I admit I forgot about our unfortunate run in with Marko and his manager. The UFC contender, The Berserker, has a great name, but he’s legitimate. There’s no way a guy making the money he does throws hands in a bar. They only agreed to come here because it’s extremely difficult to find a last minute replacement for a UFC fight, much like major boxing events. Berserker’s been training for months to fight some other guy. Now, if he’s going to get his money, he has to fight in Vegas against a ranked opponent. Alexi had me ranked after the Rattler win. Berserker now has to prepare to fight me instead.”

“I won’t mess with you about why you’re doing it at all. From Tommy’s tone lately since that Marko match, I imagine he’s been giving you the business about retiring from the UFC matches.”

Damn mind readers. “Tommy’s getting soft. Too much money does that to a person.”

“Not you apparently.”

“I can’t afford to get soft. Flo Brown needs me, Jess, and Dev to clean up Oakland. We’re the only ones still living here. Plus, our office you run is in Oakland. You do like your work at Oakland Investigations, don’t you?”

“Yep. We had a referral from your lawyer friend in LA. He called after you went out to do your witness protection gig. Chad says there’s a Bonnie and Clyde wannabe duo heading our way. They rob banks – violently. They’re wanted for five murders in connection to the bank robberies. The police arrested the woman on an assault charge in a bar. She was released on bond before her fingerprints lit up the LAPD alarm board.”

“She can’t be very bright if they already had her fingerprints in the system.”

“I didn’t say Bonnie and Clyde were geniuses, but apparently they don’t have to be in order to get out on the street free as a breeze. That’s why Chad wondered if we’d look into it. The bond was five thousand in cash I guess Clyde put up to get his Bonnie released on the assault charge.”

This was getting interesting. Chad Dubrinsky is a friend, and terrific lawyer. He also helps mentor our reclamation project in LA he was currently making a good deal of money from – The Hollywood Bounty Hunters. They had a reality TV show which we used for purposes of giving Cruella Deville’s directorial passion an outlet. Not to mention they supplied us with tips when something very wrong was happening in the Southern California ports and borders. I could see Al was on the edge of her seat, listening to fugitive talk.

“What’s Chad’s interest in this? He must know something no one else does to suspect those two are fleeing toward us, and he must have another reason than money.”

“His wife’s Aunt was one of the people killed by Metger Sampson and Clare Booth. Chad has a tip they go to ground in the San Jose area when they’re on the run. He gave the tip to the San Jose Police and the FBI, but knows the chances of follow through in the underground parts of San Jose will be nonexistent. He said name your own price if you can get them.”

If it’s personal with Chad then it’s personal with me. “We’ll look into it. Chad’s right. Tommy and I have some very reliable contacts in San Jose. That’s enough business talk. It’s getting very late for the soccer player here. What movie are we watching?”

“Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” Al chirped in like a well watered bird, knowing instinctively what my reaction to that title would be.

“How many damn times do you two have to revisit the Ya-Ya’s anyway?”

“It’s a classic,” Lora said. “It has James Garner in it.”

“That was his problem, and a classic what? I think it’s still listed in the top twenty worst chick flicks of all time.”

“So… are you going to whine for the next half hour or watch it with us?”

I gulped the rest of my Beam brother, and journeyed to our bar for a refill. “I’m going to need help with the Ya-Ya’s.”

* * *

The last soccer game for the small private league sported a rather large crowd. Because of the ages and number of kids, it was a mixed league for girls and boys aged eight to ten. Between soccer and softball, Al expressed a desire to take a break from sports for the summer. She wanted to swim, and help Lora at Oakland Investigations learning what her Mom did. I had no objections, but Lora wasn’t real crazy about the idea. I figured the three of us could play hooky and see some Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants games when they had day games in the summer.

This last soccer game was at a real nice field in San Lorenzo. Lora helped Al warm up while Lynn, Clint, and I erected our team’s portable soccer shelter with Tonto dogging our every step. I was in charge of the team equipment bags too. This age group ran around learning the basics, and the referees made more instructive calls than game intensive ones. Clint, Dannie, Amara, Jafar, and Samira came to every game. The ones not helping with the shelter or kicking the ball around with Al made our lawn chair seating and refreshment area ready. Clint Jr traveled strapped to either his Mom or Dad in a pouch. Our scheduled game attracted a couple of surprise visitors. As I put the last equipment bag in the team shelter I saw our favorite FBI honchos bearing down on us: Sam Reeves and Janie Labrie.

Lynn noticed too. “Did you put in an order for MIB’s?”

“Nope, but be nice. I may have a clue what they’re here for although I don’t know why they couldn’t have called. It is Saturday. I would think they’d take a weekend off once in a while.”

“Lora mentioned a couple of bank robbers paying a visit possibly in San Jose,” Lynn replied, straightening with a few pats for the awakening Clint Jr. He was looking around wide eyed at everything. “I want a piece of that action, Cheese.”

“No… really? Tommy and I have to talk to some of our contacts on the down low. If we’re not careful, they could get wind we’re hunting them. My friend Chad you met in LA has a personal interest I want to see fulfilled.”

“That’s what I heard. I figured we could get some quality boat time with the famous bank robbin’ duo, but if the MIB’s stick their noses in it, we’ll be lucky to get away with a rough takedown.”

“Sam’s in his usual sunny mood,” Clint noted, motioning for Tonto to heel tightly against him. Tonto didn’t like Sam.

I nodded in agreement while holding out a hand to Sam Reeves. He shook it with the same dark, dour frown he always had pasted on his face. After Janie gave my hand a quick shake, she rushed past to see Clint Jr. Sam merely nodded at Clint with a wary eye on Tonto, before joining his partner in seeing the baby.

“Oh my God, Lynn, he’s beautiful,” Janie gushed. “He sure looks like he’s filled out since those pictures you sent me.”

“Yep. Little Clint is doing real well. What brings you two for a personal visit at a kids’ soccer game?”

“Oh, you know, bank robbers,” Janie replied. “The San Francisco office received word about Clare Booth and Metger Sampson possibly going underground in San Jose.”

“We also noted inquiries being made from those reality show bounty hunter clowns and their lawyer,” Sam added. “It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure who Dubrinsky would contact in the North Bay. Is the Monster Squad taking an interest in the bank robbing fugitives?”

“We are,” I answered simply. “Are you and Janie needing a high notoriety collar?”

“We could use one,” Sam admitted. “We have a serial killer working the Sacramento to Davis area, killing random college age girls. Nothing we’ve done so far is working. Before you jump on our methods, Clint, we’re looking at everything. The bank robbers would help us look a bit better, but we could use a consult on the serial killings.”

“I heard,” Clint said. “The numbers up to four, two in the last week. The papers labeled him ‘The Riverbank Strangler’ already. Did you find out how all the details of the case were leaked?”

“Not yet, but thank God we weren’t involved until after the release. I might have known you’d notice that,” Sam replied. “Will you take a look at it when you get a chance?”

Clint was reluctant to let Reeves off the hook so easily. He grinned and gestured at me. “John runs the Monster Squad, Sam. He’s already committed to catch bank robbers for you. You’ll have to clear it with him.”

Sam didn’t like that qualifier, but to his credit, he asked. “How about it, John? You all do have FBI badges including Jessie Brown. His Mom enjoyed our show and tell on his behalf. We did hear about a certain neighborhood block party last night literally filled with FBI agents turning the law inside out.”

Uh oh. That’s enough of this trading shots. “If we can get them, the bank robbers will be transferred to you without any claim from us. We’ll work the serial killer case the same way. Clint was just making sure I hadn’t committed us to anything else. We understand the leeway we get from the Feds is a delicate situation.”

“Fair enough. I’ll send you everything we have on both cases to the Oakland Investigations drop if that’s okay.”

“Sure Sam. Tommy and I will get with our San Jose contacts right away. We’ll put them on alert to give us a call if they get any sighting of the bank robbers. How do you want us to handle them?”

“Breathing if possible,” Janie answered for Sam. “We know with these two murdering bastards that may not be an ending we can expect. Thanks in advance for the help.”

“Will you need confessions from the bankers? If you need them to make it easy on you in court, we’ll have to sweet talk them a bit.” Lynn was making certain of our parameters.

Janie’s eyes widened momentarily as the meaning behind Lynn’s question hit her. “Uh… no… that’s okay, Lynn. We have enough DNA evidence along with the idiots on video to convict them. Take care of Clint Jr. We’ll see you soon I hope.”

Sam gave us a wave. They faded off into MIB land.

“Good one, Lynn. You made Janie blink.”

“Does having those two acting as our supervisors bother you at all, John?”

I shrugged. “The first time they throw us under the bus will be their last. If they play straight with us I have no problem with them dropping the cases on us. I could tell your lovely wife can’t wait to go on the hunt.”

“Bank robbers and a serial killer? I’m in heaven, boys. I kept my mouth shut because I was afraid they’d walk away without giving them to us. I’m fired up now. Let’s play some soccer!”

“I’m not sure it would be safe to allow you around Al’s soccer team right now, babe,” Clint said, putting his arm around her shoulders. “You look ready to shoot off like a Reaper Drone.”

“I’ll be fine. Besides, we’ll be going out on the Bay to play poke the banana on Monday.”

“That’s just mean, Crue.”

“Buckle up, Banana, it’s going to be a bumpy voyage.”

* * *

“I want you on your best behavior tonight,” Tommy warns me. “If you’re really not going to retire no matter what I say, then I want you to be classy and elegant when we meet potential UFC opponents.”