Three Sides of the Tracks (14 page)

16

Command Post

“How much of that stuff you guys going to drink?” Bart Phillips asked
Sheriff Monk Adams and Police Chief Albert Gossett as they sat around a desk at
the police station.

Gossett glanced at the wall clock. “It’s four a.m., so I guess another
pot or two,” he said tiredly.

 The door swung open and two stern-faced men walked through the doorway,
with an air of “We’re here now, so stay out of the way.”

“Special Agent Dunson, FBI,” the first man said and held out his hand,
“and this is Special Agent Murray, GBI.”

The coffee drinkers stood up and shook hands with the two newcomers.

“You got here quick enough,” the sheriff said.

“We stopped by the hospital first,” Murray said.

 “How is Agent Hollister?”

 “Still in ICU, Sheriff. The bullet went through his shoulder, upper
chest. Forty-five slugs are pretty nasty, but we think he’ll make it.”

“He’s part of our community too, and we’re
all
concerned about
him,” the sheriff said with emphasis, not liking how the GBI man put his last
remark, which seemed to imply that, because Hollister was a Georgia Bureau of
Investigation agent, he was somehow exclusive.

Stone faced, Agent Dunson set his briefcase on the table and took out a
map: Georgia on one side and southeastern United States on the other. “I’d like
a more detailed map if you could arrange that, Chief. Several, in fact. Road
maps of all the southeastern states. We’ll begin with what I have though,” he
said and pointed to a circle on the map. “This represents the possible distance
they could have driven since the abduction, given a speed of 70 miles per hour.
A diameter of a thousand miles, 500 in each direction.

“Doubtful they’ve gone over three hundred at most,” Murray added, “and
we’ve had state troopers checking interstates and major roads since eight last
night. Helicopters and airplanes will be up at first light.”

“Red car ought’a be easy to spot,” Chief Gossett remarked. “Not too many
old Barracudas out there either.”

Condescending eyes looked up from the map. “Lot of red cars, and cars
don’t look quite so different from the air.”

Gossett didn’t blink. “That so? Well, we don’t get many helicopter rides
around here.”

Dunson and Gossett glared at each other then GBI agent Murray broke the ice.
“I understand you have one of the men in custody.”

 Gossett’s face colored. “We did, but his lawyer came and got him. The
lawyer plus the D.A.”

“The D.A? What was the D.A. doing here in the middle of the night?”
Murray asked.

“I’m the D.A.,” Bart Phillips said, “and I let his lawyer take him home
because he’d had the hell beat out of him, and I was trying to avoid a lawsuit.
That and his lawyer and I are good friends and I trust him. Danny won’t go
anywhere as long as Martin has anything to do with it. I was afraid to leave
him at the jail in the shape he was in. He’s pretty convincing that he wasn’t
involved in the robbery but that he was with the gang earlier and then they
took him home. I didn’t get all the details because the press was here.
Paramedics. It was a three-ring circus.”

Murray shook his head as if to clear his mind then looked at Chief
Gossett. “Chief, was he or wasn’t he involved?
Danny
, I mean,” he added
with a hint of sarcasm.

“Witnesses say he was. Mother claims he wasn’t. Says he was home when the
church was robbed.”

Dunson looked exasperated. “So why don’t you tell us your theory then?”

“Witnesses saw him with the others earlier and claim he was outside
behind the wheel when the rest of ‘em were robbing the church.”

“Well, what’s he like, Chief? Any serious trouble before? Robbery? Breaking
and entering? Hurt anybody? You know, something to make you think robbing a
church wouldn’t be too big a stretch?”

“Now those are right interesting questions there, Mr. Dunson,” the chief
said and rubbed his jaw as he looked at the ceiling and thought about Danny’s
past.

“And what about the bunch in the church? Does the kid normally hang
around with them?” Dunson kept the pressure on the chief.

The GBI agent, Murray, kept his eyes on Chief Gossett too.

“No and no,” Bart Phillips spoke loudly.

All eyes swung to him.

“I’d know if he’d been in any serious trouble. Even if he was never
caught, this is a small town and word gets around. I’d know about it if he was
a troublemaker or worse. And I’ve known his mother a long time. His father too—before
he was killed in a car wreck several years ago that is. You can bet Danny
Taylor didn’t hang around that bunch on a regular basis. I don’t know for sure
whether he was really with them that afternoon or not, but, if he was, there’s
a reason for it. The police should have asked him first instead of damn near
tearing the house down and beating the young man half to death.”

“Now hold on there, Phillips,” the chief said.

“No, you hold it. You’d better rein those SWAT boys in. They put on those
uniforms and think the law is suspended until they do their business. Well,
it’s not, and you’re responsible. Danny or his mother sues the city, you’ll be
looking for a job.”

Gossett’s face went slack when the ramifications of Phillips’ last
sentence sank in. He slumped onto a chair.

The sheriff spoke up. “Why don’t you go out to the young fellow’s house
and ask him what he knows, Mr. Phillips? Since you know the family. And
probably aren’t on the boy’s shit list,” he added, looking at Gossett and
trying to keep a straight face.

“Yeah,” Chief Gossett said eagerly, perking up and looking at the D.A.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Phillips said. “But you and you stay here,” he
said, pointing to Gossett and the sheriff. He looked at the FBI and GBI agents.

“You too. You might scare him. Hell, you scare me.”

17

Hide Out

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Caroline said.

“Uh huh, what’d I tell you? You can just sit there a while.”

“Asshole.”

Slink turned and swung all in one motion.

Caroline tried to dodge the blow but Slink stopped just short of her
face. He lowered himself back into the seat, and a smirk crossed his face.
“You’re either crazy or stupid. Which is it?”

“Tell your friend to let me out,” Caroline said, meeting Slink’s glare
with one of her own.

Slink shook his head. He slapped Brandy’s leg. “Cover that light with
your hand while the door’s open.”

Brandy looked stupified.

“The overhead light, you dumb bitch.”

Brandy’s eyes followed the pointing finger. “Oh, okay.”

“Duhhhh,” Smurf said.

“Let’er out, Whitey.”

Slink opened his door and got out at the same time.

“You going to watch me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Sweet Cheeks. Just making sure you don’t get a
sudden urge to go hiking. . . . But I don’t think you’re the kind to run off and
leave your pal. Too much conscience.”

Caroline shrugged and looked for some bushes, but there were none. The
canopy of the huge pines blocked direct sunlight from the forest floor. She
walked a few yards away and put a tree between her and Slink. Too late, she
realized she was without paper of any kind.

“Would you mind . . . Do you think there’s any paper towels or anything
in the car?” she asked timidly. 

Slink chuckled and walked toward Caroline’s tree.

“I wondered how long it’d be before that occurred to you and what you’d
do about it.”

Paper landed a few feet away. Caroline reached and picked it up. Several
sheets of paper towels were folded into a rough square.

“Disposable handkerchief,” Slink said. “Better make it last.”

Caroline walked around the tree and handed the remainder of paper towels
back.

“Keep ‘em. I spect you’ll be needing them again. Funny how you take things
for granted till you don’t have ‘em, huh?”

Caroline stopped. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you and your
little gang are in? And you stand here nonchalantly talking about minor
inconveniences.”

Slink shrugged. “What were you doing in that church? You, and your friend
too for that matter, don’t look or act like country girls?” He snatched one of
Caroline’s hands and looked at it then rubbed her palm with his thumb. “Sure
don’t do any work. I’d bet you’re one pampered bitch.” He released her hand
with a look of contempt.

Caroline’s face blazed with anger. “You . . . you have the arrogance to
judge me. You’re not only stupid. You’re deluded, deranged, or just completely
out of your mind.”

This time Slink’s hand didn’t stop, and the slap spun Caroline around
before she slammed against a tree and flopped to the ground. She knelt on her
hands and knees and breathed until the pain began to subside and her head
cleared.

Slink drew his ivory-handled pistol from his waistband and tapped her
head with the barrel. “Get your smart aleck mouth back in the car before you
find out just how deranged I am.”

Caroline struggled to her feet and wobbled to the car.

Whitey pulled up the seat to let her in. He started to remark on the welt,
but the look on Slink’s face told him that might not be such a good idea.  

18

Stakeout

As soon as the police officer who drove his car home left with the other
officer, Jessie grabbed another pistol from a desk drawer. He checked the
cylinder to make sure there were bullets then opened the small refrigerator and
took out a six-pack of beer. He opened a can, turned it up and gulped the
contents, and dropped the can in the wastebasket. He opened another and plopped
down in his leather chair, bloodshot eyes alive with anger. A few minutes
later, he dialed Sure Fire Bonding.

“Deadhead, you and Iggy get your butts down here. Call Kenneth and have
him come in and take your place. If he gives you any crap, tell him I’ll make
it worth his while. Hell, he’s too young to retire anyway. He must have been
stealing from me to retire that young.”

“Now boss, you know—”

“Just
git
down here. And hurry up. If you’re not here in an hour,
your asses are fired.”

“Come on—”

Jessie slammed the phone down, stood up, and began pacing. The more he
paced, the madder he became. Finally, he went behind his bar, opened a cabinet
and stripped the felt sack off a bottle of Crown Royal. Inside was a plastic
bag. Of cocaine, special cocaine. A batch that was one-quarter crystal speed.
The adrenaline from Caroline’s abduction was wearing off. He needed the boost.

The office door creaked open and Marie’s face appeared. She looked around
before committing herself fully to coming all the way inside.

“Come on in,” Jessie said. “You get on my damn nerves creeping around
like that. If you’re coming in, then damn it, come in. Don’t peep around like
some—”

“Oh be quiet, Jessie. I wanted to see whether you might be sleeping on
your couch before I came in.”

“Yeah, right. You mean you wanted to see just how drunk I was or whether
I was passed out.”

“Just tell me about Caroline, will you, and skip the berating for one
day?”

“Hell, she might be dead, raped, lying in a ditch with bugs crawling over
her for all I know,” Jessie bellowed.

“You
are
a bastard. A bastard. Do you hear me?” Marie screamed.

Jessie flew around the bar and covered the distance to Marie in two
steps. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. “I don’t know. I don’t
know. I don’t know nothin’, Marie. That’s what I can tell you about Caroline,”
he yelled, then shoved Marie against the closed door and strode to his bar. He
snatched the bottle of Crown Royal and took a deep swallow.

“You want a drink?”

Marie sank to the floor without replying. She stared at the carpet with
blank eyes.

Jessie shook his head as if disgusted but poured some whiskey into a
glass and walked over. One hand on the bottle and one on the glass, he sank to
the floor beside Marie.

“Here, drink a little. You need it. I know you been up all night.”

Marie’s lifeless eyes turned to Jessie. “Now why couldn’t you have shown
a little compassion, just a touch of sensitivity when I first asked?”

“Gosh dang it almighty. I can’t do a damn thing right with you, huh? I
try—”

Marie covered one of his hands with hers. “Shhhh.”

Jessie stopped yelling in midsentence, glared at Marie, then thrust the
glass toward her.

She took the glass and sipped. Her face flushed as the unfamiliar taste
burned her mouth, then relaxed as the warmth spread through her stomach and
body.

“
Have
you found out anything?” she asked softly.

Jessie’s head rolled against the wooden door as he shook his head. “No,
nothing. Except that kid I told her over and over to stay away from is
involved.”

Marie gasped. “Not Danny Taylor?”

“Yes, your and Caroline’s precious Danny Taylor. In it up to his gills.”

“I doubt—”

“Don’t start. I’m telling you I know that much for a fact.”

A banging on the front door stopped Marie’s response. Jessie pushed
himself up.

“That’s my men. We have business, so . . .”

“Okay, I’ll leave. But, Jessie, please don’t do anything you’ll regret or
make things worse—”

Jessie pushed her toward the stairs. “Leave me alone and let me handle
it, Marie. Go back upstairs. Call your doctor. Maybe he can come out and give
you something for your nerves.”

“My nerves are just fine. He can’t fix what—”

“Upstairs,” Jessie screamed.

Jessie jerked the door open. “Stop that damn banging. Geez, you think I’m
deaf?”

“Okay, boss, sorry,” Iggy said as he walked in.

Jessie pushed him back outside and handed him a piece of paper with an
address and a simple drawing of how to get there. “Caroline’s been kidnapped.
There’s a guy involved who I want you to watch. Stake out his house. See who
comes and goes. Follow him if he leaves. But don’t let him see you. There’s a
store across the street from his house that has a back parking lot. Use that
for cover and do
not
let him spot you. You got that?”

The cigarette dangling from Deadhead’s lips fell to the porch.
“Caroline’s been kidnapped?”

“Yeah, these fools stuck up a church and took her and another girl
hostage.”

“How come this one ain’t in jail, or dead?”

“Some bullshit alibi. Police buy it; I don’t. I know the little punk,
and, believe me, he’ll get his due soon enough. But I have to find Caroline
first. Y’all get over there now. That’s why I called you.”