Evil in Hockley (17 page)

“Any crocodiles around
here?”

“No, too far north. It’s too cold for
them. They like the heat of the south Florida swamps. The
occasional one comes by now and then. Who knows why? Maybe
somebody’s pet. It got too big so they tossed it in the
swamp.”

“Where are we now exactly?”

“Southern Louisiana. This small river’s
a tributary for the Mississippi. It has several names but in Creole
it’s called ‘The Sull.’ Bayou means small river so really all the
small rivers have the same name, Bayou.”

“How do we stand with the
locals?”

“I know most but be aware, some can be
bought. I may get word of someone coming but chances are we’ll have
to take care of ourselves. We’ll take turns watching after tonight.
No way word can get out fast enough for anyone to arrive before
tomorrow at the very earliest.”

Gasbon walked about the cabin searching
through cabinets and eying all corners.

“What’s up?” asked Harry.

Gasbon pointed at a corner then
said,

“There are three poisonous spiders in
Louisiana: the brown recluse, the black widow, and the brown widow.
That web and the spider hiding in the corner is a brown widow. I
always check because they like to come inside and build a web near
a window to trap flies.”

Gasbon took a broomstick an squashed
the spider then destroyed the web.

He said,

“Non poisonous spiders won’t bother you
but the poison ones are like hornets. They’ll come after you if
they think you’re a threat. They know they have venom.”

Harry was beginning to regret his
decision to come here for a showdown with the Baxter brothers.
There were more dangers in the environment than he
thought.

“Any snakes that might pay us a
visit?”

“On land there’s the Copperhead, Coral
and Rattlesnake. They usually don’t like it this close to water but
you never know. The only poisonous water snake in the States is the
Cottonmouth Water Moccasin. It’s also a pit viper like the
Copperhead and the Rattler but it’s closer to or in water. It’s
aggressive and will not only defend itself but attack an intruder.
It’s dark with a light belly and a white mouth. If you see one
coming your way back away quick. They’re three to four feet long
and fast. The suckers have been known to bite through boot
leather.”

“I’ll bear all that in mind while I’m
trying to fall asleep tonight.”

“Snakes don’t like people any more than
people like snakes. They tend to want a cool wet place to sleep and
hunt. There’s a crawl space under the cabin floor even I wouldn’t
enter. Snakes keep it rodent free and the small ones eat roaches as
well. In the bayou snakes are a fact of life. You learn to live
with them.”

Chapter 31

Darkness set in quickly, a little too
fast for Harry’s liking. He packed the Beretta under his pillow and
tried to fall asleep. Between thinking about gators, spiders,
snakes, and the Baxter brothers he had trouble finding sleep. He
had no idea how or when he drifted off but Gasbon shook him awake
well after sunrise.

“Time to start watching. I’ll show you
what to look for.”

They went outside and stood on the
dock.

“Where we came in is the only entryway
for a swamp glider. It’s not a matter of needing water. Mine can
glide across high grass but there’s too many obstructions, mainly
trees in any other direction. There’s a foot path to the north and
it joins to another coming up from the south, near the waterway.
Now they might come using a shallow water boat.”

“I’ve seen them.”

“Then you know they’re bigger and can
be rigged like a small fortress. If one comes this way, hell bent
for leather, then head for the northern path. There’s cover in the
cypress forest and swamps. It’s overgrown with vines and all manner
of hanging vegetation.”

“Where will you be?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Good, I don’t want you in the line of
fire. It’s my fight.”

“How the hell did you ever get in so
deep?”

“It’s a long story and you wouldn’t
believe it if I told you.”

“Whenever Guy Reso is involved I can
believe anything.”

That set off alarm bells for Harry.
Would Pierre have mentioned Reso? There was no need to. Only the
Baxter brothers mattered and there was little time for deep
discussion on the subject. Gasbon also asked how Harry had got in
so deep. If the subject of Reso came up with Pierre then Gasbon
would have had some background.

Harry took the first four hour watch
and Gasbon the second. It was early evening on Gasbon’s watch when
Harry heard an engine sound. He was in the cabin and funny thing
his guide didn’t come in to warn him. He drew his Beretta and
walked toward the door. He peeked around the corner. The dock was
empty. That sun-of-a-bitch Gasbon had set him up. He looked north
and it all of a sudden dawned on him there was no north
path.

He could see the swamp glider in the
distance so went in and grabbed his .308. He sighted the airboat
then lowered the rifle. It was one given him by Gasbon. He pulled
back the ejector and a shell popped out. He picked it off the dock
and noticed the scraped shell casing and bullet lead. They were
duds, the gun powder had been removed.

He dropped the rifle then pulled his
Beretta, pulled out the clip, and ejected the bullet in the
chamber. The clip was empty and so was the chamber. Before Harry
took the gun out of his duffel bag Gasbon must have emptied it.
Harry was too light a sleeper for the guide to have taken it from
under his pillow.

As the airboat neared Gasbon came from
behind the cabin.

“You figured it out too late my
friend.”

He was holding a rifle. Harry felt like
the biggest idiot in the world. Gasbon had kept him so occupied
with details and stories of the bayou that Harry hadn’t taken a
good look at the man. He should have been totally aware when Gasbon
mentioned Reso that morning.

Why hadn’t Gasbon shot him while he
slept? Several possibilities for that: he might not succeed, he may
not have the ability to kill, he wasn’t being paid enough, and
there was always a possibility of being caught. The last
possibility of course was that they would bring Harry in alive for
a torture session.

There were three people on the swamp
glider, the guide and the two Baxter brothers.

Harry was a goner.

He was alligator food.

Harry turned toward Gasbon and searched
for a way to rush the man but the guide kept his distance. He heard
the swamp glider slow and knew it was close. He didn’t take his
eyes of Gasbon because the only chance of escape was in his
direction. He heard a shot and waited for the pain to set in.
Instead the left side of Gasbon’s head disappeared. He turned to
the airboat.

Sitting in the driver’s seat was
Lenea.

She was wearing jeans and a jacket. Her
curly hair was tied into a pony tail and she wore a baseball cap
with the shield backward. She looked like a guy at a
distance.

Two men were tied to seats at the
rear.

They appeared to be
lifeless.

The swamp glider slowly drifted to the
dock.

“Hello Harry. You have trust issues.
You don’t trust me but you trusted him. Shame on you.”

She tied the boat to the
dock.

“I didn’t know you could shoot,” said
Harry.

“Not well.”

“You hit that guy in the head at fifty
feet from a moving boat. I’d say that’s more than fair.”

“I was aiming at his chest.”

“Oh, a pistol usually pulls
up.”

“It did something alright. Help me get
his body on board,” she said.

“Why not just throw them all to the
gators.”

“Harry, you’re not paying attention. We
need Reso to know they’re dead. Now help me. There’s two seats
left. Just the right number. Come on and help me so we can get back
before dark.”

Lenea dropped Harry off at a marina
then left to deliver the bodies to Reso. She was going to let the
boat drift in to his personal marina and disappear. That didn’t
surprise him in the least.

Harry called a cab and was home well
after dark. Sandy ran to kiss him then suddenly stopped.

“You face is full of bugs. Like a car
windshield. Go wash.”

Harry had a bath, he grabbed some
leftovers from the fridge, then poured himself a double bourbon.
The others had gone to bed so he sat in the living room and joined
Sandy who was reading a fashion magazine, patiently
waiting.

“So how was your bayou
adventure?”

He was hoping she wouldn’t ask but
really knew the question was inevitable.

“It was educational, fun, exciting… You
know, a guy thing.”

“Ah, ha. You like bugs in the
face.”

“The airboat is totally open. You would
have had to have been there.”

“Maybe next time.”

Harry finished his drink then they both
went to bed.

The following morning after breakfast
Harry started to pack.

He’d called Pierre and he showed while
Harry was loading the sedan. Harry told him about Gasbon. Pierre
apologized.

“The lure of huge payoffs is a bit much
for some to pass up,” said Pierre.

He apologized again then bid Harry a
safe journey.

Harry’s cell rang so he
answered.

“Guess how much you’re worth now
Harry?”

“Hello Lenea. Why don’t you tell
me?”

“After Reso heard about the bodies I
left. Oh, hope you don’t mind but I pinned a note on one. It said,
‘Compliments of the intended victim.’”

There was a silence as though she was
waiting for an answer or a hurrah.

“Go on.”

“Reso matched Joe’s bounty and you’re
now worth four hundred thousand. What do you think?”

“I’m speechless.”

“You’re being sarcastic again. You
never thanked me for saving your butt.”

“Thank you with all my
heart.”

“You’re welcome. Well I have to run. I
need to head north same as you. Meet you there.”

She hung up.

Sometimes Lenea sounded like a child or
a dumb broad but Harry knew that deep inside lurked a cold
calculating woman with a heart of glass.

The idea was to pack and be on the road
after lunch but women are women and the good byes stretched out
through the day and into the night. They slept in Marie’s house
another night then started again the following morning. It was
almost evening before they hit the road.

Chapter 32

The road north gave Harry lots of time
to contemplate his next move. Besides searching for a mysterious
woman Jarrod had been seeing that no one else knew about, there was
nothing else he could think of. And what about the drugs Jarrod was
buying? Harry knew Jarrod’s thoughts on drugs so there wasn’t one
chance in a million he was using. Joe Sharky’s comment, “Not that
fucking Jarrod again,” could have come about for any number of
reason’s. Jarrod wouldn’t have had much respect for Joe and maybe
he mocked him in some way.

Harry wanted to get Joe alone so bad…
But that wasn’t about to happen. Joe kept himself surrounded by
members of his staff and was never alone nowadays.

Why did Joe have Shelley silenced by
John Dean and Lenea? She knew little to nothing or maybe she did?
Some small detail that Joe was afraid she would share. Maybe
someone she saw. After all Joe had her at his house more than he
did any of the other girls. There would be a million small details
Shelley would have to analyze before she came to the right
conclusion. Harry didn’t want to put Shelley through another
question and answer session: she had enough challenges in her
life.

Then it hit him like a hard slap across
the face. He dialled Lenea’s number. At least the last number she’d
used. She answered,

“What do want Harry, I’m on the
freeway.”

“Then pullover and call me
back.”

Five minutes later his cell
buzzed.

He reached over the seat and held
Shelley’s hand. Lenea said,

“Okay shoot.”

“Who’s idea was it to blind
Shelley?”

He felt Shelley stiffen. Karma reached
for her as well and gave Harry a grim look.

Lenea said,

“Joe wanted her permanently blinded if
nothing else. John shoved the pencils in while Joe watched. I gave
her a drug and spelled her to kill the pain.”

There was a pause then she
said,

“Not one of my better days. There were
things I did when I was with John that I’m not proud of.
Okay.”

“Yah, that’s all I need.”

She hung up.

“It was something or someone you saw
Shelley. Joe had you blinded. He could have had you killed but it
was the kind of symbolic act Joe would have perpetrated on someone
who irritated him. You must have been in the wrong place at the
wrong time. You saw someone he never wanted you to identify. And
I’m sorry because I brought it on you. What happened to you and
Tony happened because I stuck my nose in his business. I’m truly
sorry for the pain I caused you.”