Evil in Hockley (16 page)

She said,

“Sorry Harry but it’s all I
know.”

“It’s all right. We’ll find the mystery
woman. She’ll know.”

Chapter 29

Lenea had a decision to make about
Harry. And that was whether to kill the man or not. Alive he would
do more damage and the price would escalate. A new mob boss would
soon replace Bejenco and product would again flow bringing in more
money and therefore driving the price for anyone that interrupted
business higher. And Harry was a definite intrusion.

The problem was that Joe Sharky had
raised the price on Harry’s head to almost the quarter million
mark. That would tempt other contractors. She could eliminate the
competition as they appeared making Harry seem even more invincible
than he already was. But alas, sooner or later as the competition
grew someone else would kill Harry and reap the reward she had
built.

Unless she could get Harry on board
with her.

And how would she do that?

Prove that it would be to his benefit
to join her.

She had used his mother’s skull to
track him so she did so again. Energy flowed between his mother’s
bones and her son. She could feel that energy and follow it like a
flashlight beam. He was walking down the street past an alley where
she was hiding. It was dark so no one would see her. Lenea chanted
known words into his mother’s mouth: her skull of course then
kissed it for good luck. Harry sank to his knees but before he
passed out she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged
him deep into the alley. She kicked in the door that led to a
basement under an abandoned store.

Both she and John, her older brother,
now dead, had lifted weights since they were young. That extra
strength allowed her to do more rigorous tasks than most women
could.

She leaned Harry against a wall in semi
darkness then found a light. She turned it on and shut the door.
She bound his hands in front of him and his feet as well then again
whispered words into his mother’s skull. He groaned and
woke.

Lenea was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt,
and wore a loose jacket. She cleared a spot on the cement floor
then sat, legs crossed before him. He was staring at her and if
looks could kill then she’d be a goner.

“We meet again.”

“What the fuck do want now
Lenea?”

“To talk and deal.”

“No deal.”

“You haven’t heard it yet.”

“All right, it looks as though I don’t
have a choice.”

“You’re looking for your brother’s
killer right?”

“Right.”

“I’m building a retirement fund. I’m an
entrepreneur Harry.”

“You already told me that. How do I fit
in besides being your victim?”

“First of all, do you know the price
Joe’s put on your head?”

“Surprise me.”

“Two hundred thousand.”

“I’m not worth it by a long
shot.”

“You’re too modest. Well let’s say we
collaborate and drive the price higher.”

“How?”

“We kill more bounty
hunters.”

“How does that help me? In the end I’m
still dead meat.”

“You get to find out who killed your
brother and I won’t kill you. I’ll actually help eliminate the men
hunting you.”

“What if it’s Joe I’m after and I kill
your money man.”

“Oh no, that’s one thing you can’t do
is to kill Joe. Not until after I cash in.”

“The only way you can cash in is if you
kill me.”

“Not true. If you appear dead that’s
all I need. You have to play the part of a corpse let’s say for a
day. I disappear and you get Joe.”

“So how do I appear dead?”

“Harry, that’s an insult. You’re cruel.
Have you not seen what I can do?”

“And I’m supposed to trust you to not
kill me when the price is right. I’m supposed to believe that
you’re only going to put me to sleep like Snow White.”

“Trust Harry.”

“I killed John Dean, your brother. What
happened to revenge?”

“John and I had our thing. But life
goes on long after the adventure of living is gone. He provided for
me and I know would want me to do this. Killing you isn’t the
answer. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“We’re still not past the trust issue,
Lenea.”

“I could kill you now but I’m
not.”

“No good. If I was worth a million I’d
be dead meat.”

“Well Harry, any ideas on how we get
passed our only barrier?”

“Yah, Karma puts me to sleep and wakes
me.”

“Oh Harry, silly boy. She wouldn’t know
how.”

“Then teach her and we’ll do a practice
run while I’m still only worth two hundred thou.”

“I’ll have to think about that. I think
we can work through this somehow. So I’ll tell you something I
wasn’t going to reveal unless we made a deal. Joe is a little
pissed that you’re still walking the streets and I’m not able to
stop you. So he offered the Baxter Brothers, Barry and Neal the two
hundred grand to snuff you out. Neal is a marksman and works long
range. Up to half a mile away from what I hear. Barry does close up
stuff but mostly just sets up the mark for his brother.”

Lenea brushed off her pants and played
with her jeans. Harry knew she was building tension into the scene.
He didn’t say a word waiting for her to come to the point. She
finally did.

“Here’s the thing Harry. I can spot
him. I can feel the invisible beam of energy between Barry and
Neal. Tiny as it may be I can feel it. Like a penlight on a foggy
day a half mile away, I can feel it.”

“Holy shit. I’m impressed all to
hell.”

“You’re being sarcastic Harry. And here
I am trying to turn you into a millionaire.”

“Stupid as he is Joe will get wise. Or
someone in the organization will.”

“No they won’t because none of those
egomaniacs believe in my talents. They think I’m just a dumb broad
good for nothing but a lay.”

“So I’m supposed to believe in
you?”

“You’ve seen me in action, and you know
what my mother can do.”

“All right, Lenea. We’ve got a deal for
now but we still have to work out the death thing.”

“I’ll leave this knife and you can cut
yourself loose.”

“You do it. We’re partners.”

“You might do something stupid that
could get us both killed.”

“Trust, Lenea.”

He had a point so Lenea reluctantly cut
the ropes. When she got up to walk away he swung both his feet
hitting her in the back of the knees. She sprawled on the floor but
was up on her feet a second later. So was he. Her hands were
bleeding from scraping across the cement and her knees felt as
though they’d been burned with a torch.

“That’s for the headache you gave
me.”

She laughed then said,

“You’re funny.”

Harry could feel that behind the façade
she was pissed.

Chapter 30

Harry had gone out to buy more ice
cream when Lenea ambushed him. He finally made it to the store then
home.

“What took you so long?” asked
Sandy.

Harry decided he’d rather have a root
canal than to discuss the arrangement he and Lenea had made. It
didn’t make sense to him so how could he justify it to anyone
else.

If what Lenea had told him was true
then there would be a shooter hunting him in a day or so. His only
chance at survival would be to pick up on the spotter, Barry
Baxter. His brother Neal would be within a half mile radius. Fat
chance of a clean kill.

Although he didn’t want anyone else
involved or hurt he couldn’t leave. With a marksman hunting him
he’d have no chance on the open road. Plus the probability of
others in the car being hurt or killed would be high. Here he had a
network of spies at his disposal. Maybe he could find out where the
shooters were staying before they deployed themselves.

“Anything wrong?” It was
Sandy.

“No, not more than usual.”

“Then why are you sitting there with
ice cream dripping in your lap?”

He put the ice cream in the freezer
then returned to the living room.

“Marie, we’ll be leaving in a couple of
days. I need to tie up some loose ends before I leave. I also need
to speak to Pierre.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ve never
had such gracious company. I’ll call Pierre.”

Pierre knocked on the door not five
minutes later. He must have been watching the place. Harry left the
house and walked along the street explaining his
problem.

“Their names are Barry and Neal Baxter,
hired by Joe Sharky. I don’t know how to explain this but Lenea
maybe hunting them as well.”

Pierre laughed.

“She’s a strange one. Known her since
the day she was born. I like her but don’t trust her. She grew up
in the French Quarter but also knows the city as well. She has
contacts with the younger folk I don’t have. If she’s on your side
you might stand a chance. The only guy more dangerous than a
marksman is a bomber.”

“Any word on who exactly replaced
Bejenco?”

“Yah, the name’s Guy Reso and I already
know what you’re going to ask next. Does he have ties to Joe
Sharky? He’s Bejenco’s cousin, so yes he’s part of the family.
That’s how he got in. Most of Bejenco’s soldiers supported him. It
was quickly done and only a few corpses wound up as alligator
bait.”

“You’ve just given me an idea. What if
I move north a bit along the Mississippi to bayou country. That
would equal the odds, wouldn’t it. I mean a shooter would be
hampered by the lay of the land, the swamps, rivers, and
trees.”

“If that’s your plan then prepare. I’ll
send you a guide, Gasbon. He’s ex military and has spent his life
taking people on bayou tours. I’ll spread the word you’ve gone
north to the bayou for an undetermined amount of time. I have a man
that works at one of the unions. He sells information I want
spread. They’ll think you’ve gone into hiding and they’ll surely
follow. Word will reach Reso and from there to Joe Sharky. Then Joe
will inform the shooters.”

“That’s what I’ll do. That way it’s
between me and them and no one else will get hurt. Except Gasbon. I
don’t want him killed for my sake.”

“He knows the bayou like the back of
his hand. If someone’s on your trail he’ll know.”

Harry returned to the house and told
the others of his plans to go on a bayou tour.

Sandy said,

“I want to go too.”

“Look Sandy, I never jumped on the
float with you at the parade. That was your day. This is a guy
thing. I always wanted to see the bayou, hunt gators and fish with
a spear. I’ll take my chances with the poisonous snakes and
spiders.”

“Snakes and spiders?”

“Yah Sandy, lots of those.”

“Okay Harry, do your thing. We’ll be
waiting.”

She looked relieved that he didn’t take
her up on her offer when she first presented it. Harry knew nothing
frightened Sandy more than things that slithered or walked on more
than four legs.

Marie gave him a knowing look and
nodded. She hugged him and whispered in his ear.

“You’re a good man Harry.”

Harry met Gasbon in a bar where they
had a couple of get acquainted drinks. He was a jovial man who
loved fine cuisine and bourbon on the rocks. Although a few pounds
overweight he looked solid as a tree.

They drove for two hours in a jeep then
parked at a marina. The swamp glider was deafening so Harry put on
a set of earplugs, the larger kind that looked like earphones, to
dull the noise. The four foot airplane prop behind him sucked every
fly and mosquito in his direction. Two hours or so later they
arrived at a dock and not far away was a cabin. Harry bent low to
wash the bugs off his face when Gasbon grabbed him and pulled him
back.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you. At
least one gator lives under this boat dock.”

“Thanks Gasbon.”

Harry walked up and down the dock
scanning his surroundings for sometime while Gasbon tied off the
airboat. Harry brought only a duffel bag and in it was a change of
clothes and his Beretta. He stuck the gun in his waistband and
looked to Gasbon.

“That’s not good enough,” said the
guide.

He handed Harry a rifle, a .308 with a
scope.

“It has a range of a couple of hundred
yards but around here that’s farther than you can see in any
direction.”

Gasbon fired up a propane stove and set
a pot of water on it.

“No alcohol in this neck of the woods.
You fall in the water drunk at night and the gators will have you
in minutes. Ever see gators fight over fresh meat?”