The Rented Mule (21 page)

“Nope.”

“Who just pulled up there?”

“Dunno. It’s a silver Suburban. I can’t see who it is yet.”

When Kelly closed the Suburban’s door, she pressed the lock button on her key chain. The lights flashed, and the horn chirped. She smiled, paid no attention to the only other vehicle in the parking lot, and began stretching her arms and back as she walked toward the path. She had decided to walk a lap or two until her sister arrived.

“The skeeters are eatin’ my ass alive,” Jesse Ray responded.

“It’s that perfume you’re wearin’,” Clarence said.

“I ain’t wearin’ no perfume,” Jesse Ray replied. He was sitting on a wooden park bench and had his legs crossed in a very unladylike fashion.

“Well, they ain’t botherin’ me,” Clarence replied from his vantage point in the trees at the edge of the walking track, approximately fifty yards from Jesse Ray.

“That’s cuz you stink,” Jesse Ray whispered.

“Has anybody ever told you that you look just like Oprah? I swear, y’all could be twins,” Clarence said with a chuckle.

Jesse Ray said snidely, “Well, thank you, Gayle.”

“What?”

“Never mind. It’s a complicated relationship.”

Clarence took a deep breath trying to refocus on the job, but when he glanced again at Jesse Ray, he couldn’t help but grin.

Sitting low in the driver’s seat of Clarence’s Escalade, Maynard stared at the blonde who was about to walk by
his position.
Damn, she looks like the Rabbit,
he thought.
But there’s no red Volvo?

“Yo, dogs… I uh… I think the Rabbit’s here, but she ain’t in no red Volvo.”

“What?”

“She drove up in a brand-spankin’-new Suburban,” Maynard answered. “She just walked by me, and I swear it’s her.”

“We gotta be sure… are you sure?” Clarence asked excitedly.

“I know. She looks just like the woman in these pictures. She’s walkin’ toward y’all right now,” Maynard said as he looked at the woman and back at the photos.

“I see her, but I can’t tell shit with this monocular. You see her, Jesse Ray?”

Jesse Ray cringed that radio protocols were immediately breaking down under pressure. “Big Dog, I got her, but I can’t tell for sure.”

“Chase Dog, we gotta be sure,” Clarence cautioned Jesse Ray.

“I know. I know. I got an idea. Hold tight,” Jesse Ray responded.

“Whattaya gonna do?”

“When she gets close, I’m gonna make sure she identifies herself,” Jesse Ray was confident that even if he gave her a three-second head start, he could chase her down. “Y’all just make sure the coast is clear.”

“All clear in the parking lot,” Maynard quickly responded.

Clarence didn’t have any faith in Jesse Ray’s athletic abilities but was counting on the element of surprise. He hoped that Jesse Ray wasn’t going to blow this one thing that he had in his favor.

“Chase Dog… talk to me: what are you thinkin’? Chase?” he said in a loud whisper. “Damn it, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Let me think.”

“Don’t think. We have a plan, and we execute it. Is it the Rabbit?”

The woman was a couple hundred yards away, slowly walking toward them. Jesse Ray had decided to ask her if she was Kelly Dixon. He could say that her sister left a message. He knew it would work.
I’ve always been brilliant under pressure
, he thought.

“Chase Dog, I want to abort. I can’t tell. It looks like her, but shit, man, I can’t be certain. I can only see the side of her face,” Clarence said as he studied her through the night vision. “Jesse Ray, you listenin’?”

The walking trail would bring the woman to within fifteen yards of Clarence’s position. Clarence, on his knees in the dark shadows, watched her approach. It looked like her, but it was impossible to be certain. Clarence watched her punch numbers into her cell phone as she continued walking toward him.

“Hey, it’s Kelly, where are you? Call me,” the woman said and then ended the call.

Clarence clearly heard what she said and smiled with satisfaction. “It’s her. It’s her, Chase Dog. She’s all yours,” he whispered into his mic.

“Got it,” Jesse Ray replied nervously.

Through the trees, Clarence glimpsed Maynard begin moving into the extract position just as planned. Clarence slowly rose to his feet and realized that one leg had gone to sleep. He quietly shook and then rubbed his leg, desperately trying to regain feeling.

“Coast is clear,” Maynard reported.

Clarence watched Jesse Ray stretch and act as if he was just getting up from resting to continue his walk. Jesse Ray was also pretending to check his pulse on his neck while looking at his wristwatch.
Hell of an actor,
Clarence thought. The Rabbit was quickly approaching Chase Dog’s position.

Kelly glanced toward the black woman but didn’t pay her much attention. She would not have purposely engaged her in conversation. The woman’s jogging outfit was hideous, almost causing Kelly to laugh aloud. Glancing around as she walked, Kelly looked for her sister. Kelly was the one who intentionally made people wait on her—she wasn’t accustomed to the tables being turned.
Where the hell is she!?
Kelly wondered.

Jesse Ray took a deep breath as he reached into his pocket for the chloroform-soaked rag. His muscles tensed, anticipating his next move. He purposely bent over to act as if he was stretching, forgetting the wig. His left hand caught it a moment before it fell off his head. His heart raced.

Kelly walked past Jesse Ray, who was careful not to make eye contact. The moment she was a step past him, he was moving toward her, prepared to cover her face with the damp rag.

“Move!” Clarence whispered into his ear, and Maynard stepped on the gas at the same time. Clarence slowly and painfully worked himself into a position that would allow him to sprint.

Jesse Ray ran forward, and his third step crunched a piece of gravel on the concrete, causing Kelly to spin around and see him approaching. She started screaming and running. Jesse Ray leaped to tackle her. He caught only her left leg. Holding her cell phone in her right hand, she screamed and then hit Jesse Ray in the face as hard as she could. Jesse
Ray, dazed, lost his grip and screamed in agony. Kelly took off running, straight for her vehicle.

Jesse Ray’s nose was on fire with pain, but he struggled to his feet and gave chase. He glanced toward Clarence who was running to assist but lost his balance and veered off course slightly. The Rabbit was now ten yards ahead of Jesse Ray, but Clarence was approaching rapidly as he adjusted his angle of pursuit to cut off the panicked woman.

For Clarence, the chase was just like running down the ball carrier when he was in college. The only attack angle, however, would force him to jump a forty-four-inch-tall park bench set in concrete. His football form instantly came back to him as he hit full speed. Upon reaching the bench, like a high-hurdler, he stretched to jump.

Maynard slid the vehicle to a stop exactly where he was supposed to be. In the darkness he could see Jesse Ray holding his wig in one hand and chasing the woman. Suddenly, he saw Clarence’s jumbo frame fly through the air, crash, and skid across the dirt as if he were stealing home in the World Series. Only managing a vertical height of forty-three-and-one-half inches, Clarence’s trailing foot had caught the seat back, causing him to plow face-first into the gravel.

Blocking out the pain, Clarence stood and looked to see if Jesse Ray was going to catch the Rabbit. He then quickly glanced to see if Maynard was in position.

“Maynard, come get me, we’ll have to cut her off with the car!” he screamed into his microphone, unsure if it was even working after his crash. “Damn it! Jesse Ray forget her!” he said as he struggled to run toward Maynard and the waiting vehicle. Jesse Ray pulled off the Rabbit and ran to their SUV.

Maynard backed up and turned around. The tires didn’t stop screeching and smoking. Maynard stopped as Jesse Ray
jumped into the backseat and Clarence jumped into the passenger seat.

In a crazed voice, Clarence yelled, “Follow her, damn it!” Clarence turned around to face Jesse Ray, screaming, “I knew I shouldn’t let you grab her!”

The engine roared as they raced to the parking lot.

“Go! Go! Go!” Clarence screamed at Maynard, who slid the Escalade around the corner.

“That bitch hit me with her cell phone!” Jesse Ray screamed. “She broke it on my face!”

“Shut up!” Clarence screamed, “Go faster!”

They watched the Rabbit fly out of the park from the opposite side.

Kelly, in a state of panic, turned into the residential neighborhood instead of toward a major road. She was freaking out, thinking that she had almost gotten mugged. Not until she noticed they were following her did she comprehend fully what was happening. Her heart raced, and she tried to think of where she should go. She didn’t have her cell phone anymore, and her overriding instinct was to put as much distance between her and her attackers as possible. She stomped on the accelerator.

Clarence did a quick 360-degree survey of the area. There were no cars or people outside. This made him feel a little better about what they were doing. He was hurting from the fall. Jesse Ray was bleeding from his nose and trying to reattach his wig. Maynard drove like a NASCAR champ and, in short order, they were right on the Rabbit’s tail, following her through the neighborhood.

Kelly let out a blood-curdling scream when she looked into her rearview mirror at the big Cadillac SUV with three odd-looking people inside. Everything was happening so fast that she couldn’t think straight. The Suburban handled much differently than her sporty Volvo. She was having trouble steering around corners and was sliding in the slick leather seats because she hadn’t fastened her seat belt and didn’t have time to do it now. Rounding the next curve, Kelly had to slam on the brakes to avoid broadsiding a car backing out of a driveway. The Suburban slid to a stop inches away, the headlights brightly illuminating an old couple paralyzed by fear.

Maynard slid the Escalade to a stop. Wearing a Sammy Davis Jr. mask, Clarence jumped out of the SUV with a Coke bottle of chloroform in one hand. As soon as he ran around the front of his vehicle, Kelly reversed violently, knocking Clarence into his vehicle. Shaken, but not broken, he hurriedly approached the Suburban.

Kelly opened her door to run and then saw Clarence. Immediately, she pulled her door shut. She was pinned between the old couple’s car and the black SUV behind her. She frantically began pushing buttons, trying to lock the doors. Suddenly, the driver’s side door was snatched open and a wet hand went over her face. She screamed and clawed until she quickly succumbed to the fumes. Her body went limp.

“Come up and help me!” Clarence screamed.

Maynard backed up and then pulled the Escalade forward until it was even with Clarence. He jumped out to open the rear hatch. Clarence carried the Rabbit like a rolled-up rug and laid her in the back of his vehicle.

Barking like a marine drill sergeant, Clarence ordered Jesse Ray to drive the woman’s car. “Follow us!” he yelled,
climbing into the front passenger seat. He then threw his earpiece and radio down on the floorboard and screamed, “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

Maynard jumped into the front seat and punched the gas before he even shut his door. Clarence glanced over at the old couple, frozen from the terror they were witnessing. Jesse Ray tossed the Coke bottle the Client had given them out the window and immediately followed close behind Maynard.

“Slow down. Let’s not attract any more attention,” Clarence said after they had gone about a mile. He yanked off the mask and threw it onto the backseat. “We gotta get on the interstate. Damn that Jesse Ray! We gotta ditch her car. Keep driving, I’ll tell you where, and turn that damn radio off.” Clarence was pissed. He looked behind him and saw Jesse Ray, still wearing the wig, following close in the victim’s car.

“Are you okay?” Maynard nervously asked—his eyes wide as half dollars.

“Yeah,” Clarence said as he shook his shirt, gravel falling onto the car seat. “I guess. Oh, man… I’m bettin’ I knocked a kidney stone loose, though.”

J
enny set the cruise control on her Honda at precisely seventy-three miles per hour as she traveled I-85 back to Montgomery. She desperately wanted to take a shower and wash off Gates’s smell and slimy paw prints. Attending the game had not been as productive or informative as she had hoped since neither Cooper nor the buyer showed. She knew Clarence would be disappointed. Her only takeaway was her conviction that Brooke was somehow involved in the job. Plugging her cell phone into the cigarette lighter port to charge, she waited for Clarence’s call. As she drove, she thought through multiple scenarios of how Gates and the Client, whoever he… or she was, could be scheming to take advantage of Cooper. The Tower Agency was selling. That was a fact she knew.

She began running though potential setups that would net her crew more scratch for the job. Tapping her foot to the Hollies singing, “Long Cool Woman,” she found her lighter and lit her first cigarette in two months. When her phone
rang, she quickly turned off the radio and hit Answer. “Hey there.”