Deadly Treatment (27 page)

T
aylor declined Malone’s offer to take her on the stake-out with him and Erin, telling him this was his thing to finish. Malone knew there would be no way to change her mind so he wished her sweet dreams, picked up the thin folder Daniel had put together on the broker Harrison, and left the house for Erin’s.

That late at night and with thoughts of Shannon Carter rushing round his head, the drive from Mission to Van Ness took virtually no time at all, so Malone pulled his blue Ford to a halt outside Erin’s house at a fraction before eleven fifty. He walked up the pathway, but before he could knock on the door, Erin opened it and invited him in.

‘I’ve brewed a pot of coffee for the flask, do you want one before we go?’ she asked.

Malone accepted; after all, they were in no hurry and it was probably going to be a long night in the car.

‘So how’s your day been?’ she asked as she filled their cups.

‘Exhausting and turbulent,’ he replied, and then changed the subject. ‘So Rodriguez thinks it’s all on for tonight, eh?’

‘He had another word with Harrison and reviewed the files he gave them. Apparently it doesn’t look like the hardest job they’ve ever done, and there’s a bonus for doing it quickly. So he’s pretty sure that tonight’s the night.’

Malone shrugged, ‘He’s the professional.’

‘I didn’t know what you’d like, but I’ve packed some ham and cheese sandwiches in case we get hungry. You do like ham and cheese don’t you?’

‘That’s great.’ Malone answered; he was used to her nervous chatter, and he really didn’t care.

The clock hit midnight, and the alarm went off in Huntington. Scott hit the button to switch it off, and flicked his bedside light on. As he yawned and stretched, he heard the muffled sound of Vince’s alarm going off in the other room. Scott got out of bed and dressed in his customary black pants and black turtle neck; then he went out to the kitchen to get the coffee going. From the other side of the house, he could hear the usual banging and crashing of Vince opening and closing drawers and his closet doors in search of his clothes. About fifteen minutes later, Vince joined him in the kitchen.

‘Morning,’ he grunted.

‘I thought I heard you getting up,’ Scott said sarcastically.

‘Yeah, yeah. Is the kid up?’ Vince asked as he poured himself a coffee.

‘I thought I’d give him another half-hour or so; last thing I want is both of you cranky. Anyway, we need to load the car;it’s better if Joshua’s not under our feet.’

Startled by some shrill tune, Malone nearly spilled his drink.

‘Sorry, it’s my cell phone,’ Erin said as she flipped it open. It was detective Rodriguez on the other end. He told her they were in a Utilities van parked across the street from the hotel, and that it would probably be better if she stayed at home. He finished by saying he would give her a call if anything happened.

‘Save your breath and your phone call, Detective Rodriguez, Malone is here now, and wild horses wouldn’t keep me away from coming down there.’

‘Who does he think he’s talking to?’ Erin ranted as she ended to call. ‘That’s my boy out there with those bastards. Does that idiot think I’ll just go to bed and get a good night’s sleep knowing what they are up to and what’s at risk?’

‘It’s alright, Erin; he’s just doing his job. No mother in the world would sit at home waiting, but he’s got to protect and serve. It could also be a wasted trip; it may not be tonight, and even if it is, Joshua may not be with them.’

‘Whose side are you on? You sound like Rodriguez,’ she snapped.

‘I’m with you all the way, Erin; I just know what it’s like to have your hopes…’ Malone stopped in mid-sentence; Erin needed hope right now, not pessimism. ‘The hell with it,’ he said putting his arm around her, ‘Come on; let’s go and get Joshua back!’

They arrived in the city just after one A.M.; Malone drove a couple of blocks down the one-way street and stopped his car on the same side of the road as the utility van but a few hundred yards back. From their position, they could see along most of the length of the street with all its shopfronts and businesses lit up by neon lights and streetlamps. It was a lot brighter than Malone had expected, but then again, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever been this deep into the city center this late at night. They would have been able to clearly see the hotel too had it not been hidden by a steel mask of scaffolding covered in grey netting.

More than happy with his vantage point, Malone killed the engine.

At one A.M., the three of them got into the Chrysler and backed out of the garage. Even though it was dark, Scott made Joshua duck down on the back seat; he smiled as the obviously groggy kid went one better — he curled up and went back to sleep.

‘So where are these signs then?’ Vince asked referring to the additional road signs they were going to pick up on the way to the city.

‘Head down East Florence Avenue; it’s outside a store by Broadway.’

Vince gave Scott a sideways glance; he knew that Florence was virtually the opposite direction from the city. Florence was on the way to Van Ness; Van Ness was where the Costellos lived.
Crash on Alameda my ass,
he thought but drove on silently.

They pulled up beside the store, and Vince flicked the trunk release button. Scott jumped out and grabbed a few cones and diversion signs loading them quickly into the trunk. Within a few minutes, they were back on the road again and headed for the hotel.

Due to the traffic being almost nonexistent, the trip to the city went quickly; so even with the detour to Florence added to their journey, they turned slowly into the hotel’s street a fraction after two o’clock.

It was two A.M., and Malone and Erin were bored. They’d been crammed together in the car for well over an hour, and their conversation had run dry. Malone had been doing his best to keep his mind on the night’s job and off Shannon Carter, but he wasn’t doing it very well. The anticipation that came with every car, cab, truck, or motorbike that went past made their hearts beat a little faster and their breathing slow, but as each vehicle drove past without stopping or even slowing, their excitement would wane and they would go back to their inane conversation.

In the rear-view mirror, Malone noticed a dark car had appeared from around the corner. It was driving slowly, not remarkably so, but enough to catch Malone’s eye especially compared to the pace of the other vehicles he’d grown accustomed to. He shuffled forward in his seat and peered deeper into the mirror.

‘What is it?’ Erin asked, noticing him move.

He watched the car slowly draw ever nearer to them, and then quickly take a right down one of the side streets.

Malone snapped his head around to look out the rear windshield, and caught the tail end of a black Chrysler as it disappeared out of view.

‘What?’ Erin asked again as she turned and looked out the back window with him.

‘False alarm.’ He said as he slumped back in seat and faced forward again.

‘TURN, QUICK, TURN!!’ Scott yelled at Vince, who immediately yanked the wheel and the car boated right.

‘What the fuck’s the matter?’ Vince asked his heart pounding.

‘What are you, blind? Didn’t you see it? A blue Ford was parked on the side of the road…’

‘FUCK!’ Vince shouted.

‘Fuck, indeed! And there was a van parked a little way in front of it.’ Scott added.

‘Fuck, fuck,’ Vince said through gritted teeth. ‘Do you think they spotted us?’ he asked as his eyes flicked between the rear view and side mirrors.