Just a Memory (29 page)

Not even losing him.

If she was going to be of any use to anyone, let alone Mac, she had to stop feeling sorry for herself and get some sleep. She returned to bed and wondered where Mac would be sleeping tonight.

They had planned to go to his house on the lake tonight. He said this would be a night she would never forget. How ironic. Here she was in bed at her home, alone. Not what she'd pictured happening. She refused to think of the ways the danger to Mac could make it an unforgettable night in a far different way.

Instead, she created a clear image in her mind of Mac safely sleeping alone in his beautiful new house, and then Carolyn finally fell asleep.

Leaving Carolyn at her door, without saying much about what would be happening during the night, hurt. Mac wanted to take her in his arms and tell her it would be okay. He wanted to be a knight in shining armor and say the big bad dragon, Eddy, would be vanquished, and Carolyn and Mac would live happily ever after.

He couldn't do it.

Dragons came in all different shapes and forms now. The fire they breathed was in the shape of new dynamic bullets and plastic explosives. No coat of armor, not even a bulletproof vest or shield, could protect a person from all of them. Mac knew that. He'd seen it all.

Carolyn had seen nothing. Lakehaven was too far removed from the dark alleys he'd tried in vain to clean out all those years. Now, he may have gotten her involved in his dirt just by association. He'd known better than to allow their relationship to develop and he would never forgive himself for the pain he caused her. His past business wasn't over by a long shot. Mac smiled at his own unintentional pun, but found no humor in his situation.

He couldn't stop feeling drawn to Carolyn. She was like a delicate moth and he was the life-threatening firelight. She was beauty where he'd been immersed in filth. Caro was love where he'd known only hate. Her body was all giving and before now he'd only dealt with those on the take.

Maybe he was getting soft, burned out after all those years of trying to clean up situations that only got dirtier. If he was, then he wasn't as alert as he should be and that could be dangerous. Very dangerous. For both of them. The anguish he felt at the possibility of Caro being harmed in any way tore through him. What was next?

There never had been any doubt. Mac couldn't stop until the whole case was taken care of and the slate of his past life was clean. There would be no ghosts haunting him in his sleep. He had to do it for Sam, but especially for Caro. No matter what it took.

Mac drove by rote to the Sheriff's office. He parked in the visitor space in front of the entrance. Leaning back in the seat, he sighed deeply.

He had to find the key to his memory that would tell him what he needed to know about that night on the docks. He knew for certain that somewhere he did have the key to it all. Eddy wouldn't be heading for him otherwise.

Protect Caro and find the key. That would clear it all up. His list of priorities completed, Mac climbed out of the car and walked into the building.

"We've been expecting you. Sheriff's in the map room."

Mac nodded his thanks to the uniformed officer at the front desk and, after taking a minute to make one special surveillance request, he directed his steps down the hall. He recognized Hines's voice talking with the Sheriff.

Thinking back, Mac had been surprised when Hines had agreed to come with him to Lakehaven. Mac appreciated his company and his friendship, even if he didn't feel he needed a personal bodyguard. But Hines had come because they both knew there had to be a lot more involved in this case than was visible on the surface. If only Mac could remember what his mind refused to acknowledge.

"Mac. We've been expecting you," the Sheriff said.

Mac nodded at Hines and turned back to listen to the Sheriff.

"Here's what we've got. The yellow pins show possible sightings." The Sheriff paused and his face turned grim. "The red ones are where he's left his mark by hurting someone. A convenience store, a liquor store, and a fast food drive-in here. It's like he wanted us to know what he's doing."

"What happened? How was he cut loose?"

"They were taking him back with his attorney from a court appearance about an appeal. A setup with a lot of help from the outside. All very well planned. They knew exactly where he was going and when. There was just a short window of opportunity when they were in the open. The guards never knew what hit them."

Hines spoke for the first time. "Too smooth, too wide, and too lit."

Mac glanced knowingly at Hines and turned one of the chairs from the line along the wall to straddle it with his arms folded on the back. "The message couldn't be more direct if they'd used a bonded carrier."

The Sheriff added the obvious. "Seems he's saying he's coming to settle his score with you, Mac."

"That's what they all say," Hines responded with a grin. "Mac's a very popular guy."

Mac slapped the back of the chair and rose. "Well, if I'm going to have company, I should get home and get the house ready. This wasn't what I had in mind for a housewarming party tonight though."

"What housewarming?" the Sheriff asked.

Mac told the Sheriff about the house on the lake he was buying. He showed him the point on the map. "It'll be a great place to wait for his company. He wouldn't come by boat in the winter, and I can see or hear him coming by land."

The Sheriff questioned his reasoning. "How would he know about your house out there? I didn't."

"I think they know all about me." His anger flickered instantly, but he tamped it down. Showing it wouldn't aid his cause.

"Or else gray is the most popular car color in Lakehaven?" Hines suggested.

Mac nodded curtly.

"I can send my men to watch the place for you," the Sheriff offered. "They can rotate around the clock. That way–"

"No," Mac insisted firmly. "He would spot your men in a second, and I don't want any of the locals hurt. I want him to come to me and not to anyone else. I don't want to scare him away. We're going to settle our differences this time once and for all."

"Now wait a minute," the Sheriff cut in. "I don't like you setting yourself up for this all alone."

"Don't worry," Hines said as he rose from his chair. "The punk heading this way won't cause you any trouble. You can count on Mac and me to see to that. You shouldn't have to worry about this stuff from our past anyway, Sheriff. That's not what the good people of this county pay you for." Hines patted the back of the sheriff's shoulder.

The Sheriff seemed to like the sound of any arrangement that didn't involve him or his men. Good. Mac knew he had to be damn sure the hoodlum came to him and not Carolyn. The bigger the target he made, the littler one he hoped she would appear to be.

He cursed himself for not having insisted on her staying with a friend just to be sure she was safe where no one would know to look.

"I haven't lived all these years to get killed by a jerk like this one now. Thanks though." Mac reached out and shook the shorter man's hand.

The sheriff didn't give up involvement completely. "I'll have the desk keep you informed of everything we hear. Be sure your beeper is on. Damn, I wouldn't trade places with you for anything. When I was elected, I never dreamed I would get into stuff like this here in this county. Wait until my wife hears about this. On second thought, maybe I won't tell her. There would be no end to her harping on the subject of me being in such danger here in Lakehaven. What's this country coming to?"

Leaving the sheriff to answer his own question, Mac and Hines strode out of the building. They paused by Mac's car.

"Hines, there's no way in hell Eddy would waste a minute of his freedom to hunt me down out here in the hinterlands."

"The escape was a slick job."

"There was only one vantage point it could have been pulled off from successfully," Mac added.

"To the station and call from there?"

Mac nodded and smiled at how he and Hines thought along the same lines. Back at the station it was Mac who reached for the phone and punched in an
Albany
number. "None of this seems right. Why all the heavy support for a punk dealer? Why the mile wide trail?" he asked of Hines while waiting for a response on the telephone.

Hines shrugged and flopped down on the worn sofa while Mac paced the short distance the phone cord would allow. After a moment Mac spoke into the phone, telling someone who he was and what he wanted. He switched to the speakerphone so Hines could hear.

"Morris is in charge of that one," the other officer was saying.

Mac and Hines exchanged looks of astonishment.

"He isn't in now," the officer continued. "I can fill you in, but if you want to talk to him you'll have to call back tomorrow."

"Yeah. Okay, go ahead. Tell me what you've got," Mac insisted.

The voice on the other end told them the same information as the Sheriff had.

"What's the latest on his location?" Mac asked.

"We don't have anything since the drive-in. With the food and booze, maybe he got sleepy and stopped somewhere. He's never been in your vicinity before. He's always stuck close to home, strictly a city boy. Maybe he's waiting for daylight. It's snowing hard here though, so who knows. Maybe he had trouble driving in the stuff."

"When Morris shows up have him call down here, will you? " Mac asked.

"Sure. No problem."

Mac thanked him and hung up the phone.

"I'll be damned," Hines said. "Bob Morris got promoted. They must miss me in the worst way if they'd give that to him."

Mac tried to laugh, but couldn't. "A great cop gets killed and an incompetent one gets promoted. Brown Eyes must be out tonight strutting his stuff. What does he care? We're out of his jurisdiction, and now, so is Eddy Santini."

"Hey, I've always wondered. How'd Morris get the handle Brown Eyes?" Hines asked.

"I'm not sure. He started bleaching his hair and that made his dark eyes stand out even more than they did with his dark hair. Someone must have used the name, and it just stuck, I guess."

"He never could take a joke," Hines concluded with a snort. "Probably a good thing we left. When I find someone who can't take a joke, it's tough to let up on 'em."

Mac rose and stretched. "It's late. How about a pizza?"

"Sounds good. I can't think of another place that will put us in the open in a more lit area than Mama's."

"Then we'd best get ready for our guest. You know, maybe the sheriff's right. There is the possibility he won't know I'm moving to the house on the lake. If he asked anyone where I live, they'd say the apartment."

"Yup," Hines agreed. "That's the way I figure it."

"Want an extra man with you in the apartment?"

"Nah. I think the sheriff's wife will be happier if he goes home," Hines said with a grin. The grin disappeared when he went on to say, "The local guys shouldn't have to clean up our old business, but he's having a cruiser go by every half-hour to check on cars in the area. That's enough. I also asked him to have a car drive by Carolyn's place, Mac."

"Thanks, friend," Mac said. "I asked them to do that too, at the desk on my way in. This one is going to have to be you and me, Hines. You stay at the apartment and I'll go out to the house after our pizza. We might as well give Eddy a welcome at whichever place he picks to pay me a call. I'm betting it's the house. I think our tail must have seen us moving my stuff out there."