Evil in Hockley (7 page)

Harry almost missed it but he’d stalked
terrorists for a living. You didn’t let your guard down with those
guys. John Dean had reached into his shirt and tossed a handful of
dust. Harry reasoned it would not be beneficial to his longevity
and dove to avoid it. He looked up from the floor as the dust cloud
hung and slowly settled to where he had been sitting.

His Beretta was out in a
heartbeat.

There was no one else in the
room.

Seconds had passed and all three had
disappeared.

It had indeed been a trap but not like
any he would have expected. He searched the house yet found
nothing.

When he left the house the first thing
he noticed was the absence of the black sedan. He climbed in his
car and drove to Sandy. Thank God she was all right.

“Why didn’t you follow the black sedan.
I would have been out in seconds.”

“What sedan?”

“Shit. What the hell is going
on?”

“What Harry? You were only there for a
minute then came back out.”

“They were in there: John Dean,
Shelley, and Tony. Then they were gone.”

“What are you talking about
Harry?”

Harry could see it was a waste of time.
He had no answers for what he saw or didn’t see. How could he know
what went on outside?

“Let’s go home, there’s nothing more
for us here.”

He almost got to his car when she
yelled,

“Harry.”

He turned then she added,

“I’m scared.”

“Yah, it’s all okay.”

But it wasn’t. Harry had never been so
dumbfounded in all his life.

Chapter 13

There was a lot of nothing passing
between Harry and Sandy that evening. They both had thoughts of the
day’s activity that led absolutely nowhere so talking about it was
an ambivalent undertaking.

Harry realized John Dean was way out of
his league. How could he fight an entity he didn’t understand. He
had to stop thinking about it or he’d go around in circles all
night long like a dog chasing its own tail. His plan was… He didn’t
have a plan. He’d have to wait for John Dean’s next move then try
to find a weakness he could exploit.

If he lived through the next
assault.

Darkness set in when Harry heard light
footsteps on the front porch. There was a weak knock as though
someone didn’t want to disturb the occupants. He answered and stood
facing Karma. She gave him a slight smile then nodded and said
hello. Harry eyed the laneway and her car searching for her backup.
She worked for Joe Sharky which justified his mistrust.

“I’m alone. May I come in for a
moment.”

Harry stood thinking when Sandy
approached and stood behind him. It was as though Karma could read
their thoughts.

“I left Joe Sharky. I came to drop off
these papers.”

Harry hadn’t noticed but she carried a
satchel. She eyed the Beretta in his hand.

Harry said,

“I listened to one of Joe’s people
today and my head’s still spinning.”

Karma nodded.

“That was John Dean and his sister
Lenea.”

“No just John Dean.”

She shook her head.

“When you deal with one you deal with
both.”

Harry didn’t know what she meant but
realized she might have some critical information to
share.

“Come in please.”

Sandy protested.

“Harry?”

“I’m going to hang onto my
gun.”

It seemed to calm her but she threw her
hands in the air and walked back to the dining room. He invited
Karma in then pulled back a chair. She smiled then said,

“You were always a gentleman
Harry.”

Harry set the Beretta on the table then
sat. He stared at Karma: she was as usual dressed in black wearing
the same blue emerald necklace he’d seen countless times before.
She had long dark hair and on the right side hung a feather
spanning almost to shoulder length. She looked as though she had a
perpetual tan, her skin smooth, the years kind to her.

“You said you left Sharky?”

“Long story.”

She shoved the satchel across the
table. Harry opened it slowly as though expecting a rat to escape.
She laughed then said,

“Just some papers I grabbed off Joe’s
desk before I left. Maybe of value, maybe not.”

“I had some powder thrown at me today
that I don’t think was merely just a prank.”

She shook her head.

“You must have avoided it because had
you not you would certainly be dead.”

“I dove to the floor. What was
it?”

“A mixture of powdered glass, snake
venom, and hot peppers. If you inhale it the glass bites into your
lungs. The peppers and dried snake venom irritate and cause
bleeding. You would choke to death on your own blood.”

Sandy had a frown on her face when she
asked,

“How do you know this? Why are you
here?”

“Tony’s gone. He was like a bird with a
broken wing. He could never look after himself. I needed him. He
was no good but I needed him.”

Harry held up his finger.

“I saw him today. He’s
alive.”

Karma shook her head.

“He’s in a world between life and
death. There’s only one direction he can take and it leads to the
land of the dead. Shelley’s in the same situation. Neither have a
soul.”

Sandy shook her head.

“And you know this because?”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got all night.”

“All right then but I’ll have to start
at the beginning. I’m Creole which is not only a language but in a
sense the people who speak it as well. Joe Sharky and Bobby Mercer
have a fascination with voodoo and visit Joe’s uncle, a mob boss,
in New Orleans a couple of times a year. That’s where I met them
and they offered me a job at Sharky’s bar.”

Sandy interrupted.

“Let’s be clear about this. You went
north to become a prostitute?”

“I fell into that role the same as my
mother did and her mother before her. I’m not here to argue
morality. I’m here to warn you what you’re up against. John Dean
and Lenea, a voodoo priestess.”

Sandy uttered a humourless
laugh.

“Like we’re fighting
Zombies?”

“That’s right. If you want to call it
that. More like the two who create the walking dead.”

Karma turned to Harry.

“You saw two of them today Harry. Tony
and Shelley.”

“To tell you the truth I don’t know
what I saw. They disappeared. I don’t know if they were even
there.”

“That was Lenea’s doing. They always
work together. Never forget that. She had something of yours and
made you see what she wanted you to see.”

“I can’t see what she could possibly
have of mine?”

“The bullet you put in Tony’s
knee.”

Sandy knocked on the table.

“I didn’t see a black sedan. Harry said
it was there. She definitely didn’t have anything of
mine.”

Karma smiled.

“She had Harry.”

“Fuck.”

Sandy had found the right word to
express herself and the situation.

“What did this Lenea do that could
cause me not to see something and make people disappear in front of
Harry’s eyes?”

“That’s not easy to explain but I’ll
try.”

Karma looked to be in deep
concentration then finally added,

“You know in the movies when thieves
steal something they film an empty aisle? Well that’s basically
what Lenea did to you. She made you see what she wanted you to see,
not what was really there.

“People disappeared in front of Harry’s
eyes because she froze time for him, for a couple of minutes. She
was probably within sight of you and the house.”

Sandy asked,

“How are we supposed to fight those
two? I mean we don’t know any voodoo spells.”

Karma thought for sometime then
said,

“Joe originally hired me for my
knowledge of voodoo and the black arts. I’m actually more of what
you would perceive as a witch than a voodoo priestess. When I found
out what he wanted me to do I played dumb. So I became a prostitute
and sold dope. I couldn’t sing or dance.”

Karma chuckled then said,

“I actually didn’t have sex with
anyone. That is except Tony. I undressed and went to bed with them.
I whispered sweet words in their ears and they surrendered their
minds to me. I gave them thoughts of having had the best sex of
their lives.”

Sandy did a double take.

“Could you teach me that?”

Karma laughed again.

“It would take a life time to
learn.”

Harry had to know where Karma
stood.

“So you can help?”

Karma appeared in deep thought then
nodded.

“For Tony. For what they did to him,
I’ll help.”

Chapter 14

Harry broke out the whiskey while Sandy
made sandwiches. No one had any supper and it was well past
nine.

Harry asked,

“So where are you staying,
Karma?”

“Nowhere right now. I can’t go back and
I can’t go to Tony’s. All my clothes are in my car. I guess you
could say I’m in a transition phase.”

“You can stay here, in the spare
bedroom.”

Sandy slammed the sandwich platter on
the table.

“Like hell she will. Not unless I’m
here.”

“You can both stay. We’re safer in a
group.”

Karma held up both hands.

“I don’t want to impose.”

Harry was quick to respond.

“You won’t be an imposition. Your offer
to help is gratefully appreciated.”

Sandy’s face was beet red and she wore
a frown leaving lines so deep Harry wondered if they’d leave
permanent scarring.

He said, “Sandy?”

Then he gestured toward
Karma.

Sandy took the hint.

“Yah, thanks Karma.”

Harry said,

“So it’s settled. You’re staying. You
can sleep with me.”

Sandy jumped to her feet and stared at
him.

“Just kidding. You’re sleeping with
me.”

“Not likely.”

“Come on Sandy. It’s been a hard day.
Lighten up a little.”

She sighed then sat and
said,

“Maybe you’re right. It’s the waiting.
It’s nerve racking.”

Harry thought a moment.

“Any ideas on what to do
next?”

It didn’t take Karma any time at all to
answer.

“Joe will be hard to get to. He’ll hang
around his bar with lots of backup while you’re alive. Bobby Mercer
is Joe’s right hand. He makes the drug buys and manages all of
Joe’s illegal activities. Joe manages the money and makes the
decisions but Bobby is the man who physically carries them out.
There is also a special bond between the two. They go everywhere
together and do everything as a pair. Not queer in the physical
sense but in everything else. Bobby’s like a pet dog around Joe and
Joe appreciates the loyalty.”

“So I kill Bobby?”

“Maybe grab him and stash him somewhere
would be a better idea. He’s of use alive. Maybe I can read his
thoughts. Dead he’s just another reason for Joe to kill
you.”

“There’s always a house or two for sale
in Hockley. Or maybe one where a family is on vacation. I could
find one that’s empty and secluded. Locks don’t mean anything to
me.”

“I know where Bobby makes his illicit
deals. He took me shopping in Toronto a few times when he made some
buys. It was kind of nerve racking because he bought the actual
product and put it in Danny’s car. Danny by the way is Bobby’s
right hand man. They keep their group small, mostly just the two,
so they won’t draw attention. Sometimes Danny brings a van. They go
every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“So you know where they go and what
time?”

“Yah, we’ll be waiting.”

Harry realised it could all be an
elaborate plan to capture him. He’d be out of his element and
totally in Karma’s hands. He saw doubt and mistrust in Sandy’s eyes
as well. It was a matter of trusting Karma. She was the only help
he had against an invincible foe. He’d have to sleep on
it.

It was well past midnight and they were
about to retire when there was a noise in the laneway then the
sound of boots on the front porch. Harry grabbed his Beretta but
before he could get to the front door it imploded. Tony Moore
strutted in on stiff legs, his hands outstretched, reaching. Harry
had no idea what waited outside. He had to immobilize Moore
immediately. He fired a shot into his thigh. Tony stopped but
regained his tempo.