The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (140 page)

Adela nodded and Hennessey laughed derisively, ‘maybe they
will, “Do the right thing,” but that won’t be enough. If Leyton lives they’ll get to him eventually. Even if they can’t coerce him or if he stands firm and remains honest they’ll just kill him…and her too, ‘he walked towards Lando, ‘my way he gets what’s coming to him, he can never hurt anyone ever again.’

When Lando shook his head Hennessey went on impatiently, ‘remember your dog, your home? He glanced over at Adela, ‘remember what he put
her
through?

Lando said, ‘and
you,
Hennessey, who will punish you for what
you
did? Who will punish you for what you
will
do?’

Hennessey smiled, ‘maybe you will, Lando, maybe you’ll be my nemesis. But that’s for the future, for now let me deal with Glissando in my own way, ‘ He looked around, ‘maybe I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine, then leave him chained up to starve to death down here.’

Glissando stepped forward and spoke to Lando, ‘take me with you, don’t leave me alone with this madman.’

Lando walked towards him and stopped a foot from Glissando. He stared into the man’s eyes for a moment then suddenly pulled back his arm and punched Glissando in the face knocking him down. At any other time the expression of utter amazement on Glissando’s face would have been comical but no one was laughing except Hennessey whose laughter was more at Lando’s action than Glissando’s reaction.

Lando picked up Glissando with one hand as though he weighed no more than a small child and pushed him against the wall.

Glissando grunted in pain but through his bleeding mouth managed to get out, ‘I’ll pay you. I’ll give you what I promised Hennessey, five million dollars.’

Lando glared at this man who had caused so much trouble, so much pain, so much misery. Not the woman, not the young girl, not even Hennessey, but this man; he was the catalyst that had put everything in motion.

Glissando, confident that he could talk his way out of anything with promises of money was not deterred; after all it had never failed in the past. He said, ‘all right, I’ll double the offer, ten million.’

Lando said, ‘you’re a murderer, Glissando, and I don’t take money from murderers, I’m no assassin.’

Glissando smirked and the blow he had received from Lando must have affected his brain because he said, ‘you may not be an assassin, Lando but I believe killing your own wife could be called murder.’ Anyway, with that amount of money you can forget that traitorous bitch you married, you could buy a new wife…and a new dog.’

Unfortunately he only realised his mistake the moment the last word was out of his mouth. Lando picked Glissando almost off his feet and threw him to the floor then knelt astride him his hands around his throat. As he pressed his fingers against Glissando’s windpipe he snarled, ‘you think you can make it right with money? You think you can bring people back from the dead? You think you can bring back Sullivan?

Glissando’s eyes began to bulge out of their sockets as Lando continued his tirade, ‘you think you can heal Leyton’s wounds? You think you can make that woman forget what happened to her? You think you can stop her nightmares and those of that young girl you raped and tortured for years?’ He banged Glissando’s head on the concrete floor, ‘you think you can do all that with your money?’

Glissando’s face went from red to blue as his air was cut off. Suddenly Lando felt a touch on his shoulder and through the red mist of his rage he heard a woman’s soft voice say, ‘Mr. Lando, Mr. Lando please stop, don’t do this. Don’t lower yourself to his level. You’re better than this, a better man than he could ever be. Please don’t become what you despise.’

Lando’s fingers remained firmly fixed on Glissando’s throat, but as the hand squeezed his shoulder he slowly unfurled them and let go of Glissando who spluttered and gagged trying to get air into his screaming lungs.

Lando knelt a moment looking down at him then his voice low but very forceful said, ‘Dashiel Glissando, you’re under arrest for murder and conspiracy to commit murder, for kidnapping and aggravated assault, for bribery and corruption and for being a grade A asshole.

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney during interrogation. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to you. Do you understand you rights,
Mr
. Glissando?’

Glissando coughed and spluttered as he fought for air and Lando said, ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

Then Lando stood up and looked down at him for a moment before turning to Hennessey who held out both palms, ‘hey, I ain’t arguing with ya pal.’

Lando turned to Adela; they stood looking at each other, the silence in the room broken only by the sound of Glissando’s gasping. There was a look in Lando’s eyes, a look she had never seen before; there was gratitude there, yes, but also something else, something right at this moment she could not define.

‘Glad to see you haven’t forgotten your duty Detective Lando, nor the Miranda either.’

T
hey all immediately looked towards Leyton. Adela ran over to him and knelt beside him saying, ‘Ellis, are you all right? How do you feel? Can you stand?’ Are you able to walk?’

Leyton
said, ‘no, lousy, yes and yes.’ Adela’s laugh was very shaky. ‘Can you help me up?’

She put her arm around his back and assisted him to his feet. Once up he looked around, first at Lando then at Glissando still lying on the floor, and finally Hennessey.

‘You must be the guy I came to Alabama to arrest.’

‘That’d be me I reckon,’ Hennessey glanced at Lando, ‘but you’ll have to join the queue I’m afraid.’

Lando joined Adela and Leyton and the latter said, ‘I’d like to know how you found us, and what you’re doing with a hired killer but that can wait for now. All I want to say is, thanks.’ He took Hennessey into his glance as he said this.

Lando nodded, ‘you’re welcome, D
etective. But let’s get outta here and get to a phone.’

He turned to Hennessey but pointed at Glissando and said, ‘watch him, and Hennessey,
watch
him not
kill
him.’

Hennessey grinned, ‘you’re such an old do
- gooder, Lando.’

Adela looked at the two men; she wondered how they had come together again, who had found whom? Why had Hennessey come with Lando to rescue them? She hoped she would find out, but right now her mistrust of Hennessey was still very strong.

Leyton, supported by Adela and Lando, and Hennessey his gun trained on Glissando walked out the door along the corridor and up the stairs.

Lando said, ‘I’ll make the call from Glissando’s study.’

Lando really wanted to get out of there as fast as possible but Leyton was in no fit state to climb through fences and thickets.

Hennessey nodded and pushed Glissando up the stairs causing him to stumble but he wisely said nothing. Once back in the study Lando aimed for the phone while Adela settled Leyton into a chair and looked around for something to bind his wounds and maybe something for the pain. She turned to Glissando, ‘do you have a first aid kit in here?’

He looked at her but didn’t answer so Hennessey prodded him painfully with his gun. Glissando gave him a look of hate and snapped, ‘no.’

Adela said
to Hennessey, ‘there’ll be one in the kitchen, do you have any idea where that is?’

He said, ‘yeah, but don’t go in there, we need to stay together. Besides, there’s something in there you won’t like.’

Adela instantly knew what he meant and paled. He said, ‘look, sit down, I’ll find something.’ He pushed Glissando roughly down into a chair and looked around, seeing nothing but the tablecloths he tore one from the table saying, ‘very nice, Glissando, expensive, maybe they’ll let you have them in your cell.’

Glissando ignored him and Hennessey chuckled. He found some scissors in a draw and gave them and the cloths to Adela saying, ‘cut these into strips.’

She looked up at him as she slowly took them from him, this time her look was not one of fear or suspicion or dislike but more curious than anything else. He gave her a soft smile of understanding then turned away.

Lando was now speaking on the phone to someone, ‘yes, we need the police and an ambulance at Dashiel Glissando’s residence, there’s been a shooting, several shootings actually.’ He listened then said, ‘yeah, I’d say someone has been hurt.’

Again he listened then, ‘look, never mind my name, just get here okay, and make it quick.’

He hung up and turned to Hennessey, ‘they’re on their way.’

Hennessey nodded, ‘y’all won’t mind if I make my exit afore they get here, I’m much too popular right now with the boys in blue.’

Lando said, ‘I can’t stop you, Hennessey, so if you’re going go now, I’ll handle this from here.’

Suddenly Glissando started laughing, they all looked at him and he looked around taking them all in his glance. ‘You think that’s it? You think it will all be over when the police get here? Oh no, it’ll be just the start. Hennessey here might have gone funny in the head to join with a cop and an ex- con but he’s smart enough to know how things work. The local cops know me; I’ve donated money to their widows and orphans fund.

I’ve helped them out with information about local drug dealers and other miscreants.

My money put the mayor and the chief of police where they are. The police will walk in here and arrest all of you, they’ll see that you broke in here killed my men and tried to kill me,’ he put a hand to his throat, ‘they’ll see a murdering ex- con, a woman wanted by the law and a dishonest cop who’s besotted with her, and me as the victim of all of you.’ 

Lando walked towards him and looked down on him, ‘yeah? And just how will you explain Leyton’s injuries? How will you explain the fact that your guy flogged the flesh from his bones?’

Glissando gave him a look he would give a half wit, ‘I’ll just say he attacked my man and he defended himself.’

‘You’re nuts if you think they’ll believe that.’

Glissando shrugged, ‘I didn’t say they
would
believe it, only that is what I will tell them.’

Lando stared at him for a moment, at his smug, self -satisfied, supercilious smirk and felt like throttling him again only this time letting no woman stop him.

Hennessey said, ‘told ya. He’ll walk no doubt of that. You should let me deal with him.’

Glissando looked at him as if realising for the first time that he had said too much. Hennessey seemed to read his mind because
his
expression was now smug and self- satisfied.

Lando stepped away and leaned against the desk. He knew what they had said was true. Never under normal circumstances would they believe Glissando’s story, but the cops were probably in his pay and maybe the D.A too. He was also right in that he was an ex con who should right now be giving his statement to the sheriff about why there were so many dead men in and around his cabin.

And the woman, she was being hunted by the very cop who now lay dead in the woods. And Leyton, what Hennessey said was true too, if he remained obstinate and stuck to the truth they would find a way of silencing him, they might set him up as an accessory to Sullivan’s murder, once in prison they would not even have to pay someone to kill a cop, they would do it gladly.

But even knowing all this he could not let Hennessey kill Glissando. Most of his life had been spent trying to protect people, trying to prevent murders. How could he now hand a man, even such a man as Glissando, over to be executed?

Yet by not doing so he would possibly be condemning not only himself but Leyton and the woman to God only knew what.

Hennessey shoved
his gun into Glissando’s cheek, ‘there’s something I want you to do for me before I leave.’

‘Kill you?’

Hennessey chuckled, ‘in your dreams, asshole. No, but this might kill
you
. Get on your computer and transfer my remaining fee into my account. That’s four million dollars unless you’ve forgotten.’

Leyton was amazed but Lando and Adela knowing Hennessey as they did were not at all surprised that he should think about his fee at a time like this. As for Glissando
his eyes became huge as he spluttered, ‘you are surely jesting.’

‘Oh I never “jest,” about money. Come on you’ve done it enough times, just press those same buttons, I’ll enter my account number and then you and I are done…permanently.’

‘I…I won’t, you can’t make me.’

It was odd but no one there thought it strange that Glissando seemed more concerned and scared about losing his money than his men.

Hennessey had a grin for almost every occasion and this time it was a grin of anticipation as well as confidence, ‘you think not?’

He lowered his weapon until it poi
nted at Glissando’s leg saying menacingly, ‘you know how many times I’ve blown a man’s kneecaps off, Glissando, probably not, even though I did it by your request on occasion. I believe it hurts real bad, or maybe those guys just screamed for the hell of it.’