Blood & Tacos #2 (16 page)

Detective Jones was running full lights and sirens. Last he heard, Stark was
going to a soul food joint. Somewhere on West Century Blvd. He was with Sunshine
and had no idea what he was into. It had taken the guys from the gang unit to
piece it all together, but they had. Sunshine was anything but a civilian. She
was a combatant. Blowing across Hawthorn he traded paint with a UPS truck. The
driver called him a "stupid nigger." Would have upset him, might
even have used his .38 to knock out a few of the cracker’s teeth, but
his partner was on the line so he kept blasting.

In the Caddy, King looked her over like he was deciding whether or not to eat
her. "You a brave, little girl. You know who I am?"

"Yes, I do, Chucky, I do."

"Chucky? No one … not since school … oh mother fu—you
are."

"Yes, I am."

King’s mind raced. This girl could have been Kendra nineteen years ago.
But Kendra was in a chair, no way she could have …

"Do you know why I’m here?"

"I—we didn’t mean to hurt her. We were just messing around
and she stumbled …. Really it was an accident. Ask …

"Who? Jimmy G? He didn’t have any good answers. Caesar begged,
told me it was all your idea. He did say my mother was asking for it. Well,
he almost said it. Couldn’t finish with his face all over the pier."

King closed his eyes. The night flooded in, drowning out the present.

It was on a deserted road up behind the Griffith observatory. After the
prom, they had failed to hook up with any bitches. So King, Jimmy G, and Caesar,
they headed up to the overlook, to drink some beer and fuck with some kids.

Kendra had decided on the dance floor that tonight was the night she would
give herself to Otis. He was a good man. She loved him like no other. He made
her feel shy when he came around.

Otis had been gentle when he unbuttoned her gown. He touched her body like
it was precious. She arched her back, pressing her near naked body against his.
Their lips met. The kiss wasn’t gentle; it was hungry. He pulled her legs
apart. She guided him into her. She screamed his name, told him how much she
loved him. He held her close, echoing her words of love. He’d thought
she was the one for him since the fourth grade, but now he knew. He really knew.
When the release finally came, he let out a howling scream.

That was the sound that attracted the three football players. They ripped
the Ford’s door open. The naked couple tumbled out onto the dirt. They
circled around them. "Well, well, Otis Four Eyes. How the hell did you
get this fine woman into your car?"

"You get her drunk? That it, ese?" Caesar asked.

"Nah, bet he hit her with a shovel."

"Jimmy right about that? He hurt you?" King moved in closer.

Otis stood, facing the bigger man. "Let her go."

"Four Eyes, you giving orders?" King drove his fist into Otis’s
gut, doubling him over. On the way down, Caesar hit his face, spraying blood
into the dust.

Kendra threw her body over him.

"Kendra, time you was with some real men." She spat up at King.
A good glob hung off his chin.

Caesar laughed. "Hey, King you gots some on your chin."

"I know what the hell I have and where. Get that bitch."

Otis whispered, "Now, don’t look back."

And he was up, his fists were full of loose dirt. He threw it in the two
nearest faces. He threw wild unfocused punches. One caught Jimmy G off guard;
he stumbled back, his nose bleeding. Caesar nailed Otis in the back of the skull
with a baseball bat he used as a walking stick. Otis crumpled. King laid his
boots into Otis.

Kendra was running around the car to get in the driver’s side. She
tripped on a tree root. For a brief moment she thought she was flying. Then
she landed hard and tumbled. When she stopped moving, she had lost all feeling
below her neck.

King looked at Sunshine sadly. "You killed Caesar and Jimmy G over a
mistake? We never meant to hurt your mother."

"But you did mean to kill my father. Nobody beats a man to death by accident."
Before he could speak again, she raked his face with her long nails, drawing
blood. He yowled and slapped her. Blood came from her lips. She scratched the
other side of his face. This time he punched her nose. It flattened in to a
bloody pulp. Her blood splattered the windshield.

Sunshine kicked the car door open just as Stark cleared the diner’s door.
She fell back screaming, "No, King, don’t shoot me …. No,
please. Stark, help."

Stark’s .44 Magnum exploded into the night. He punched two fist-sized
holes into the windshield. The first shot took King’s neck out, the second
shattered his chest.

The siren filled the air as Jones bounced into the lot. He jumped out shotgun
in hand. He searched for a threat, saw none. He leaned into King’s car.
"He’s still breathing."

"Get his gun before he plugs you."

"He ain’t got no gun, Stark. Way you hit him he couldn’t
move far. No gun. Did you see a gun?"

"Hell yes, I saw a gun. He was trying to kill Sunshine."

Jones moved around the Caddy and helped Sunshine up. "He didn’t
have no gun, did he?"

"I’m sure I saw one. Detective Stark wouldn’t have shot him
if he didn’t, would he?"

"And that’s how it will have to play. I read the file on your mother’s
accident. And what happened to her date. Odd that all three dead men went to
that same prom."

"Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?" She gave him a subtle wink.

Jones dropped an untraceable throw-down pistol into the Caddy. Stark would
get a commendation for bravery for saving the young woman’s life. Their
being on a date would never be mentioned.

Ray-Ray called on Sunshine late one night. He brought her a briefcase. They
stood on the front porch like two old friends chatting. "I have to know,
Sunshine, what made you believe you could trust me."

"Well Ray-Ray, greed and fear. You wanted King’s empire. And you
know if you screwed me, I would find you."

"And what if the cop hadn’t shot King?"

"I would have used the .32 in my jacket pocket. Same one I got pointed
at you."

Ray-Ray looked at her hand. It was in her jacket pocket, aiming at him. He
started to laugh. "Nothing gets past you."

"Not much."

It wasn’t until she was in her mother’s room that she counted the
money in the briefcase: $30,000. Her mother smiled at her. It was done. She
closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, the sleep of the righteous. Sunshine
watched her mother sleeping for a time, then slipped from the room.

Thinking it all over, Sunshine finally felt relief. Killing one man is hard.
Killing two is near impossible. But after three, it just started to come naturally.

THE END

Beautiful, Naked & Dead
, Josh Stallings’ first novel, is garnering
great notice from readers and reviewers alike. Its sequel,
Out There Bad
,
has met with equally stunning reviews. He is busy working on the third Moses
McGuire crime novel,
One More Body
. In addition to his fiction, his
noir memoir
All The Wild Children
will be published by Snubnose Press.
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Erika, two dogs and a cat named Riddle.

Well, whether this is your first kick at B&T or you're back for more, thank
you. I'm extremely pleased to be bringing you the high calibre pulpy creamy
goodness you may have been missing for the last, oh, 40 years or so. Thanks
again to Johnny Shaw for agreeing to take on this project, or talking me into
it, whichever. And to Roxanne Patruznick for another fantastic cover, and the
many authors and reviewers whose work I'm getting to know.

I've been promising Johnny I'd deliver a column or some-such, so look for the
impending "Cooking Like a Man" in future issues, and please, if there
are any potential reviewers out there interested in some good old fashioned
fiction from the day, I've heard Johnny can be enticed to send you a random
copy of something fun in exchange for a review - don't be shy, we'd love to
hear your thoughts.

Speaking of thoughts, if you're enjoying yourself or have suggestions or ideas
for what you'd like to see in our digital pages, please help spread the word
by posting your thoughts on your blog, Amazon, Goodreads, and the authors' (and/or
B&T's and/or CGP's) facebook pages and blogs.

Aloha,

Pete S. Allen,

Creative Guy