Roll the Dice (11 page)

Kai shot from his chair his expression explosive. “I don’t care what the
professionals say. There is no excuse for his behaviour. None!
 
To think a defence attorney could use this
shit to get him off one day makes me sick.”

“Hey calm down, big guy. He won’t get off. We have too many key
witnesses and all this corroborating evidence he wrote himself. He’ll go down
for life.” Aurora hated to see her partner lose it. Showed how close he was to
the situation. Unhealthily close.

Aurora’s cell phone cut off her spiel. She fished in her pocket and
looked to see the caller. Her hand went up to warn the others but just by her
body language they seemed to know something had happened.

“This is Detective Morelli. How can I help you?”

Disbelief appeared and was replaced with cold acceptance. “Hang on,
Darlene. We’ll be right there.”

She hung up and retrieved her gun from the side drawer. She holstered it
and then slipped on her jacket. And all the while she spoke in a controlled
tone. “Darlene needs us, Rhondo’s back in action. Except this time we were
wrong. He didn’t want her. He took Wayne.”

Just tell us exactly what you remember.” Official yet tender at the same
time, Kai took lead in questioning the girl whose cheek looked twice the size
as normal.

Aurora sat holding onto the hand that clutched hers. “Start with when it
happened. It’ll help clear your mind.”

Darlene aroused herself from the stupor she’d reverted to after they
arrived. Aurora sensed the shock had taken her to a place where she could
handle the confusion and pain. “What time did he show up?”

A glance at her watch helped her to answer. “I guess about an hour ago.
It seems a lot longer. But I'd just come home from the early shift at the
restaurant where I work. I’d swung by to pick up Wayne at the school. Since
we've moved here, we try and walk home together. Wayne’s been concerned about
me.” The sobbing laugh that erupted made the hairs on the back of Aurora’s neck
shoot up. “Joke, right? He worried about me and I never once gave a thought to
him being the target.”

“Neither did we, Darlene. It’s only recently we found out that Rhondo
swings both ways when it comes to his games. Otherwise, we’d have warned you
and Wayne.”

Kai passed over a tissue from the seemingly constant supply he kept in
his pocket. “Then what happened?”

“He was waiting. Right here in the apartment. As if he owned the place.
Pleased as punch with himself.” Darlene blew her nose and lowered the Kleenex
to be shredded in her lap.

“Wayne, acting the man, pushed me to the bedroom and tried to pretend
that Earl was a friend. The man laughed in his face. Then he told me to come
closer. I wanted to give Wayne time to run but he wouldn’t. He went for the
fiend and got smacked for his trouble. He still wouldn’t stay down, went for
him again. I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t stop. He wanted to protect me.”

“Brave kid to take on someone twice his size.” Kai spoke, pride ringing
clearly.

“Except that it seemed to excite Earl and he said to me. “Look at that,
chicken-shit whore! This little sucker’s got spirit. I like that.”

“I knew then what he meant and I threw myself at him, begged him to take
me. I begged…” At this point, neither Kai nor Aurora could make out any words—
just babble and groans. Eventually when she became coherent again, they
continued.

“Did he say where they were going?”

“
They
didn’t go anywhere. He
tazed Wayne and then flung him over his shoulders like a sack of old potatoes.
When I tried to stop him, he hit me and I banged my head on the corner of the
coffee table. I must have conked out. When I woke up, they were gone.

“I’ll get out an amber alert. Do you have a recent photo of Wayne? I’ll
need to send it in so his I.D. will go out to highway patrol plus to the
officers on duty in town. If he’s on the streets, we’ll find him.”

Kai took the proffered picture and using his phone, he took a copy and
within minutes had it sent over the wires.

The crime scene investigators showed up and were given space to set up
their equipment. The medics also arrived and examined Darlene whose stamina had
fizzed out and who was now in the state of collapse.

Aurora stepped out of the way to let the others do their jobs. She
looked down at her tear-stained blouse where the first onslaught of Darlene’s
weeping had happened the minute they’d stepped into the apartment. She’d chosen
her nicest blue tailored blouse this morning, not quite sure why, and it now
resembled the rag she felt like.

Standing took so much energy, she wondered if she’d fall flat on her
face. Clutching the photograph and seeing the cocky smiling face of Darlene’s
brother reminded her of how a trooper acted, full of bravado and confidence and
bullshit luck. Only his luck had run out.

“You okay, Aurora?” Kai’s soft voice in her ear straightened her spine
and got her adrenalin flowing.
 

“Yeah! I’m good to go. I need to see someone. Get one of the black and
white’s to drop you off at the station.”

“You’re taking personal time? Now?”

“It’s none of your God-dam business.” She started moving towards the
door and his hand on her arm, steering into the hallway, put a stop to her
hysterics. A ringing in her head started but he pulled her attention away
before she could concentrate on what put it there.

“It is my business. We’re partners, remember? Where are you going?”

She looked at the fingers still encircling her arm and then she stared
into his eyes, the intense blue glacier cold. Time passed as she waited.
Finally he let her go.

 
“To round up an old friend whose
memory works well when he gets his palm greased. But he hates cops, especially
male cops. So you can’t come with me. You gotta trust me on this.”

Seconds passed as he reflected. “Fine. I’ll grab a ride to headquarters
and catch up with you there.” He gently massaged her arm before letting it go
completely. A slight twinkle appeared.

Aurora’s surprise, evidenced by the look in her eyes, appeared before
she lowered her head.

“You thought I’d insist?”

“You’re a cowboy. How the hell do I know how you’ll react?”

“With common sense—always.”

“Always? You sure?”

“Almost always.” He grinned and walked back into the room where people
were hard at work, trying to capture a killer with a fifteen your old boy at
his mercy.

She pounded on the door of the tacky apartment where her informant Luke
lived. The derelict old building’s hallway smelled of greasy pizza, pot and
piss.

Aurora pounded on the door. “Come on Luke. Get your behind outta bed and
open up. It’s me, your sister come to visit.”

Whenever she ran him down at his place, as promised, she left all signs
of her job in the car. No badge or gun, just a girl looking for her brother.

The next door opened and the frizzy-headed fellow down the hall poked
his head out. “Hey Rory, he’s home. Saw him came in about an hour ago.”

 
“Don’t call me Rory. It’s
Aurora, you big lug. You sure he’s here?”

“Yep. Had a late one last night though. Worked a double, so he’s most
likely dead to the world.”

“Then give me his key. I forgot mine. Come on Ray, gimme, huh? I need to
see him.”

“No way, man. He’ll kill me. I’m only supposed to use it if there’s an
emergency.”

“So me beating the crap outta you isn’t an emergency?”

“Well when you put it like that… I’ll get it.”

These two who lived next door to each other had formed an unlikely
friendship over the years and had first been introduced by Aurora.
 
Ray, being the only one in the building who
knew that Aurora carried a badge, kept it to himself.

Years before, his hacking ability had gotten him into a ton of hot
water. When Aurora had seen his potential and bailed him out of trouble, he
moved out of the old neighbourhood, got a job with the department and made pals
with Luke. Since then, he never failed her. And as far as she knew, he kept his
nose clean. Still, he really believed that she was Luke’s sister and never
interfered when they spent time together.

He handed her the key. “Slip it under my door when you leave. I wouldn’t
want him to know I’d let you in.”

Aurora couldn’t tell him that Luke would already know due to the fact
that she’d never had her own key. Luke wouldn’t allow it.

The living room, darkened with heavy curtains missing hooks here and
there, was murky but cool. Squeals, from the air conditioner in the corner, set
her teeth on edge and so she went over and pounded it once, then again. The
proper hum that followed made her shake her head. The kid had enough money to
buy himself a good appliance, why the hell didn’t he?

“Don’t move. Put your hands up.”

“Luke, you better not be packing. Seriously.”

“What he hell, Aurora? You can’t just break into my place whenever you
want. It’s my castle, man.”

“Quit changing the subject.” She turned around to see him placing
something in the back waistband of his pants.

With her hand held out, she waited.

He pulled the toy gun from behind and passed it to her. “I gotta have
some protection.”

“I see. This is really going to help. What? You figure on shooting the
criminal with a cap?” She threw the amazingly accurate copy on the
spindle-legged coffee table.

“Whaddaya want? And how did you get in?”

“Picked the lock. Your eyes are glassy." She stepped into his space
and grabbed his chin.

“Hey, I’m straight edge. You know I don’t do drugs.” The belligerence in
his stance became his best line of defence.

“Sorry, I’m tired. Listen, put on some pants. I want to talk to you.
I’ll make the coffee.”

“I don’t want coffee. I don’t want to talk. I want to sleep. So leave.”

She moved closer and stared him down.

He added. “Please!”

“Think about it Luke, Would I mess with you if it wasn’t serious? I need
your help.”

“I don’t know anything. It’s been quiet and I’m off until tomorrow. Come
on Rory, I need sleep.”

“So I need you. And don’t call me Rory.”

“Your partner Debbie does.”

“Ex-partner, and she’s been told. Never mind, let me explain what’s
happened. Then you tell me if you want in or out. Get your pants on.”

The young man stomped into the bedroom and slammed the door. Two minutes
later he appeared with his long hair tied behind and a pair of jean shorts
barely surviving their ride on his narrow hips.

He beat her by jumping into conversation before she had a chance to form
a sentence. “It’s Rhondo, right?”

“Yeah! How did you know?” She handed him a mug of his favourite instant
coffee with four lumps of sugar.

“He’s the only reason you’d break into my place rather than have me
picked up.”

“It’s Rhondo.”

“What’s the bum done this time?”

“ He’s taken a kid, a fifteen year old called Wayne. And he’ll mess that
kid up big-time.”

“Shit.”

“Tell me something, Luke. Anything I can use. There’s got to be word on
the street with the new product he’s selling.”

“I got nothing, Aurora.”

“An address, anything. Who’s he been seen with? Any women talking about
parties coming up?”

“Parties! Hey! I overheard Joe Crawly ask the boss whether Johnnie Ross
was going to show up for the shower. They roared like it was a big joke and
then they saw me listening and changed the subject. Didn’t make any sense at
all.”

The boss was big Mike, a Polack who ran his bar with a steal fist inside
a velvet glove. No one messed with him or they ended up in a hospital bed. He
played by the rules—his rules. Kept his nose clean, didn’t take sides, paid for
protection and bossed Luke while making sure no-one else did. A strange man,
but nobody’s fool.

“Ross? Is that loser back in town?”

“Not so’s I know. You scared him pretty good. Word’s out that Earl wants
to have a little talk with him if he returns. As long as Rhondo’s in the
vicinity, my money’s on Ross not returning

“Mine too. After we made the deal with him, where he turned on Rhondo
and gave us the party address last week, I figured him for disappearing. So
when he did, I wasn't surprised. We covered him in Reno to make sure he didn't
warn Rhondo. But then he skipped. No one’s seen him for the last week or so.'

"I took him for a rat-fink. Knew he'd squeal with a bit of
convincing." Satisfaction rang in Luke's voice.

 
"You say they mentioned a
shower, like in the same terms as a party?”