The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (145 page)

If the evidence he had hidden was not found or had been destroyed and Leyton died, who would tell the truth about Glissando and what had happened here? Only Lando and he a convicted felon. Who would tell them about Desi, about the hit put out on Adela Faraday? Who better to back up her story than the hitman himself? And if she died she deserved to be exonerated, to be honoured for the courageous, valiant woman she was. She deserved nothing less, she deserved so much more. Yes, he would confess his role in this play, this tragedy. It was a shame Glissando was dead; he would have appreciated the irony of that.

No one saw his hands clench into fists behind his back as he stared back into Lando’s eyes and there was nothing in his own eyes, no request, no entreaty, no pleading, nothing.

Even the approaching sirens seemed to quieten as if waiting for Lando’s answer. The two men held each other’s gaze but a pair of blue ones opened wide and Hennessey’s expression was a picture of confusion and disbelief as Lando said, ‘he’s an old friend of mine, from my academy days.’

Right at that moment and for all the moments that were left to him, Lando would never be able to explain why he had done that, why he had not exposed Hennessey for the cold blooded killer that he was. But it was almost worth it to see the cool, unflappable, imperturbable Hennessey just this once dumbfounded and speechless. Almost. But give the man some credit he very quickly recovered and grinned.

Lomax pinned Hennessey with his eyes and there was no mistaking the scepticism in his tone as he said to Lando, ‘academy, huh?’

Lando turned and knelt dow
n next to Adela again, ‘yeah. I needed help, I called him, he came.’

Lomax nodded, ‘old friends like that are hard to come by ain’t they?’

Lando did not respond to this and Lomax after giving Hennessey one final look said, ‘turn around.’

Hennessey did and Lomax removed the cuffs. Hennessey said, ‘thanks, sheriff.’

‘Well wouldn’t want to go arresting the wrong guy and make me look foolish, and this election year too.’

Hennessey treated him to one of his grins that didn’t seem to affect Lomax one iota as he ha
nded him back his Glock saying icily, ‘you’d best get outta here, we don’t want the feds making the mistake I nearly did and think you’re a criminal now do we?’

Hennessey’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, then the grin slid from his face as he looked down at the still unconscious Adela.

Lomax said, ‘she’ll be taken care of.’

Hennessey stayed where he was and his eyes had a far away look in them. He whispered something neither of the other two men could catch then as if forcibly pulling himself together he said matter of factly, ‘well, Lando, it’s been…interesting, as always. Take care.’ Lando said nothing just glanced up at him.’

Lomax said, ‘oh, it might be to everyone’s advantage if you never came back to Alban, or even to Mississippi, Mr…?’

Hennessey looked at Lomax then at Lando then down at Glissando’s body and said, ‘Brutus, Marcus Brutus.’

Lando rolled his eyes and Lomax frowned in consternation. Hennessey turned to leave but turned back and the grin returned to his lips as he said to Lando, ‘until next time…old friend.’

Lando’s head shot up but before he could retaliate Hennessey had gone.

Lomax whispered something to another deputy who nodded and ran into the woods. Just then they heard a vehicle approaching and stop then men calling to one another. There was a rustling of leaves as two more deputies and four paramedics came into view.

Lomax called, ‘over here, quick now.’ He directed two of them to Leyton and two to Adela. The first paramedic pushed Lando to one side and said to his partner, ‘this is the knife wound. Get onto the general and tell them we need blood, lots of it.’

The other man obeyed and the first paramedic worked on Adela setting up a drip and pushing a needle into her arm. He said to Lando, ‘what’s her name?’

Lando hesitated then almost reverently answered, ‘her name is Adela Faraday.’

The other man looked at him, ‘she’s in a bad way, the knife has ruptured her spleen.’ Lando nodded and the man asked, ‘has she been conscious at all since it happened.’

‘Just once, she was in a lot of pain and soon passed out again.’ He didn’t tell the man that her last words had been a plea, not for herself, but for one other. His throat tightened and his eyes stung so that he had to blink the water from them. He watched the two men put Adela onto a stretcher then felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lomax, his eyes concerned and sympatheti
c. He handed him a shirt. ‘You’ll need this; we don’t want all those nurses at the hospital ogling your hairy chest when they should be saving lives now do we?’

Lando looked at the shirt with a sheriff’s insignia emblazoned on it, obviously one of Lomax’s spare ones. Lomax said, ‘’Jonas, go with her to the hospital. I’ll hold off the locals and the feds for as long as I can.’

Lando didn’t speak but his eyes conveyed his gratitude. He followed the stretcher towards the trees but looked back as Lomax said, ‘Jonas, let me know if anything…just let me know, okay?’

Lando nodded and strode after the stretchers carrying Leyton and the woman.

                                                       ********

At the hospital Lando paced up and down the corridor outside the theatre in which surgeons were trying to save Adela’s life, in his hand he clutched a cold, untouched plastic cup of coffee someone had handed to him aeon’s ago.

He had been told that Leyton was comfortable in I.C.U, he was still very sick but holding his own. Lando had a feeling he would make it, he was tough and determined, he had proved that when he had stayed behind alone to hold off their pursuers and survived to save him, the woman and Hennessey.

As for the woman he had no such feelings, he couldn’t even begin to think of her being dead, yet he did not want to tempt fate by imagining her alive and well. But this waiting was killing him slowly and tortuously. Every time the theatre door opened his heart almost leapt into his mouth but it was always a nurse running for more blood. He had offered them his but he was not a match, if it had been he would have given it all, every drop.

But every time the entrance door opened he expected to see the feds walk through it. He wondered how Lomax had staved them off for more than two hour
s. He owed that guy, big time.

He couldn’t stand this waiting; it was tearing his insides to shreds. He threw the coffee cup into the trash and headed down the corridor. He walked aimlessly, his thoughts jumbled and incoherent until he found himself at a dead end with just one door in front of him with a big cross on the front. The chapel.

He turned to go back the way he had come but hesitated. He looked once more at the door and before he knew what he was doing he was inside the chapel staring at a huge crucifix, a figure of Jesus on the front, hanging from the ceiling just above the alter.

He didn’t know what had compelled him to come in here; he had not been in a church since his wedding day and he hadn’t particularly enjoyed it then. He would have preferred a civil ceremony but Adrianne had not of course.

So they had had a huge lavish wedding with hundreds of people he had never seen before and would never see again. He had little family now, both his parents had died when he had been a child and he had only one sister whom he never saw. She had come to see him in prison many times but every time he had refused to see her until she had got the message and stopped coming. He had felt dreadful about it but had not wanted her to see him in that place. She had written to him just before his release inviting him to come stay with her and her family…she had a husband and two kids, a boy and a girl,…but he had refused, no, not just refused, he had not even acknowledged her invitation, nor even her letters.

Now he sat down in a chair on the front pew and stared at Jesus hanging from the cross. I know just how you feel, pal,
he thought rather irreverently, he too felt as though he was being slowly crucified. He recalled again how Adela had berated him for his blaspheme just as she had Glissando. He smiled but it lasted only an instant.

He felt uncomfortable, he wasn’t sure what to do, he had never been a praying man, or adolescent, or even child. He wasn’t sure he even believed in an all powerful deity. He preferred to believe that people made their own fate, chose their own paths, chose to be good or evil and blaming an unseen being was a cop out. He liked to believe he was man enough to take responsibility for his own actions, to be rewarded for his good deeds and to be punished for his crimes in
this
life.

And he had been, as a cop he had been rewarded with satisfaction by closing a case and bringing an evil doer to justice, or when he had saved a life. And in the life he had now, he found a certain reward in the recovery and continued good health of the animals he rescued and saved. And punished for his crimes? Oh yes, he had been punished all right, he had lost his wife, his job, his friends, his home, his liberty. So why should he be punished again? And he would be if the woman who now lay in this building died.

But he knew in his heart that he could never possess her. Could never hold her close and run his fingers through that beautiful mane of hair. Could never lay her gently down on his bed, take off her clothes and run his hands over her soft naked flesh. He knew he didn’t have the right to have her, even if she had wanted him. He didn’t deserve her, and she deserved better.

So deep in thought was he that he barely registered the movement next to him until he turned quickly. His eyes opened wide in amazement, because there sat Sterling Hennessey. He didn’t know why he should be surprised; he should know by now that Hennessey lived to do the unexpected.

He said, ‘well if it isn’t Marcus Brutus.’

Hennessey laughed then looked quickly around saying, ‘oops, shouldn’t be laughing in the house of God.’

‘I think I’ll get outta here afore lightening strikes and the roof caves in.’

Hennessey chuckled, ‘well I been in a church before and nothing ever happened, far as I know anyway. Although I must say I’m surprised to see you in here, I never took you for a religious man.’

Lando shrugged, ‘right back at ya, Hennessey.’

Hennessey grinned and Lando said, ‘I just got tired of pacing the corridors.’

Hennessey nodded, ‘I know what you mean.’ Lando glanced at him quizzically and he added, ‘I been pacing the car park.’

Lando’s expression changed to one of disbelief. Hennessey said, ‘I need to know too.’

‘Why? Guilty conscience?’

This time Hennessey’s sm
ile was rather forced, ‘I leave the guilt tripping to you, Lando.’

‘Then what’re  ya doing here if not guilt? Morbid curiosity? Make sure she don’t live to point the finger?’

‘You don’t believe that for a moment, if you did you would never have lied to your good friend the sheriff. Besides, if I wanted her to die, I wouldn’t have relinquished my weapon to Glissando would I? I’d have let him cut her throat.’

Lando had
to concede these points, ‘so why are you here?’

‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’

‘Try me.’

Hennessey’s face took on a rare serious expression as he looked away and his eyes rested on the cross above the alter. Eventually his voice very low he said, ‘because I care.’ At Lando’s look of scepticism he said, ‘told ya.’

‘Maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t see “caring” in the same way you do.’

Hennessey’s smile was very self-
depreciating, ‘yeah, I know. What I did to her can never be forgotten…or forgiven.’

‘You heard her, don’t go after the kid and all is forgiven.’

Hennessey shook his head, ‘I have too. I made a promise to bring her back. It’s that principle thing again.’

‘Half of the money Glissando paid you was to kill the woman too, but you didn’t did you? Instead you helped save her.’

‘That’s different.’

‘How?’

‘I never promised Glissando I
would
kill her.’

‘Semantics.’

Hennessey laughed then shrugged, ‘perhaps, but nevertheless true.’

Lando said, ‘tell me something, Hennessey, all that you said back at my cabin about never intending to kill her and kidnapping her to protect her from Glissando’s men, as well as bringing her to Alabama for me to take care of, was that all bullshit?’

Hennessey was now silent and Lando made a “huh” sound, ‘thought so.’

Hennessey cast a glance at him, ‘well you would have thought wrong, Lando, it wasn’t bullshit, what I told her was the truth. At first I did intend to get the information any which way I could, even if that meant hurting her, five million bucks is a hell of a lot of dough, plus I had made a vow to see this through. But once I got to know her, well, you know what happened.’ He sighed deeply, ‘part of me is mad at myself for becoming involved with her, for caring about her. And part of me is relieved that I did before I made the biggest mistake of my life and hurt an innocent woman.’

‘Yeah, I can see your dilemma,’ Lando said sarcastically, ‘you cared about her so much that you subjected her to probably the most terrifying ordeal, short of rape or murder that any human can inflict on another.’