Jeff Abbott - Cut and Run

‘Do you really listen to yourself?’ Gooch asked. He stood by the small music collection, which offered mostly Frank Polo CDs.

‘Those are promotional copies,’ Frank said from underneath the wet cloth. ‘We give ’em out at the club. Very popular.’

‘Right. No one goes to that club for the women, it’s all about the giveaways.’

‘Frank.’ Whit sat by the singer’s feet and took the coffee cup off his stomach. ‘I need you to think.’

‘Jesus, thinking is the last thing on my mind.’ Then what he said struck him as funny and he gave a nervous little laugh. Whit and Gooch didn’t laugh.

‘When he was a kid, Paul used to lip-sync to my songs,’ Frank said. ‘He had the attitude of a performer. He could’ve been so much more.’ Sounding genuinely sad.

‘He’s spilt milk now,’ Gooch said.

Frank lifted one corner of the wet cloth. ‘Yeah, but he was a sweet kid, once, okay?’

‘Paul cut your hand open and tried to have Eve and me killed,’ Whit said. ‘You’re sorry he’s dead?’

‘No, I’m sorry he turned into such a bastard.’ Frank sat up. ‘There’s a difference. I got to call his mom, I’m dreading that.’ He tossed the damp cloth on the coffee table, smoothed his hair. ‘With Eve and Paul gone, there’s no senior leadership left but Bucks, and he’s MIA, the traitor.’

‘How would he know about Paul meeting me? He’s on Kiko’s side now,’ Whit said. ‘How would Kiko know, for that matter?’

‘Paul told Bucks, simple as that,’ Gooch said. He still didn’t look good to Whit, his skin waxen. He’d slept fitfully, vomiting this morning, sweating with chills, but still refusing to go to a doctor.

The shootout at Bucks’ condo and the triple homicide that included Paul Bellini last night had been all over the morning news, and Bucks remained missing. ‘Kiko’s people killed Paul and then went after Bucks,’ Whit said. ‘Double cross.’

Frank stood. ‘I should be at Paul’s house. Rallying what’s left of the troops for a war with Kiko. This is not my style. I don’t want to do this.’

‘Frank, if my theory’s right, you don’t want to become the head of the Bellinis. Kiko’s eliminating them.’

Frank said, ‘Leadership ain’t my groove.’

‘We’ve got to find where Kiko hid Mom,’ Whit said. ‘Think, Frank, please.’

‘I want to believe she’s still alive, too, Whit,’ Frank said. ‘But if Kiko killed Paul and Gary and Max, and tried to kill Bucks, why’s he gonna keep Eve alive?’

‘Because she can hand him the Bellini assets. Transfer funds. There’s no one to stop him now from a complete takeover. With what Eve knows, Kiko can force Mary Pat to hand over control of every business, every asset. He’s erased the Bellinis’ power in a night.’

Frank got up. ‘Bucks and Paul knew where Kiko was living, but I didn’t. So I put out word on the street. Said I’d pay cash to know where Kiko’s staying. There’s nothing more I can do.’

‘I’il go nuts sitting here and waiting,’ Whit said.

‘Learn how. Unless you want to call the police.’ Frank crossed his arms. ‘You find Eve, you’re leaving town?’

‘Yes. She’s coming home with me. For a short while, at least.’

‘I think that’s an excellent idea,’ Frank said.

‘Thanks, Frank,’ Whit said.

‘Lot of ifs there,’ Gooch said. ‘You boys are optimists.’

‘Don’t talk like she’s dead. Don’t,’ Whit said.

The phone rang. Frank went to it, said hello, listened, said no a few times, hung up. ‘No one’s seen Bucks. The rest of the ring isn’t meeting at the Bellinis’; there’s a cop car on Lazy Lane, probably there to take pictures of the license plates of the cars coming and going. Oh, man, I’m moving to Vegas.’

They sat, waiting, and two hours later the phone rang again and Frank answered it, spoke quietly. ‘Yeah. Fine. Stop by and I’ll give you your money.’ He hung up. Didn’t look at Whit, at Gooch, leaned against the little bar counter for support.

‘That was a dealer I know. He said Kiko Grace and his bodyguard Jose are living in a townhouse on Fannin, near downtown. The dealer’s got three other dealers working under him. One knew Kiko from Miami, saw him at those condos last week when he did a YSD.’

‘What?’

‘Yuppie Scum Delivery,’ Frank said. ‘So this condo, maybe that’s where he’s got Eve.’

‘Give me the address,’ Whit said.

‘Sure. But then I got to go to the Topaz,’ Frank said. ‘I should put in an appearance today, calm the girls that we’re staying open.’

‘No,’ Gooch said. ‘You come with us, Frank. In case you’re setting us up in a trap.’

‘Gooch, I love Eve. I’m not gonna let her kid get killed.’ Frank touched Whit’s shoulder. ‘C’mon.’

‘Maybe Whit trusts you. I don’t,’ Gooch said. ‘Sorry.’

‘You can be a little late for the Topaz,’ Whit said. ‘And it’s safer for you staying with us.’

‘Right. What you gonna do,’ Frank said, ‘ask Kiko Grace pretty-please to give you Eve back?’

‘No. I’m going to tell him if he doesn’t release her, I’m going straight to the police, with everything I know. Simple.’

‘You’ll do that even if he kills her.’ Frank shrugged. ‘His way, he gets rid of a witness. He’s probably gonna get rid of you, too.’

‘If he lets her go, I stay silent about him killing Paul. Forever.’

Frank shook his head. ‘I don’t see this conversation going smoothly.’

‘I killed a man once, Frank,’ Whit said. ‘He tried to kill me. He had already killed a woman I loved. I killed him, and I thought guilt would gnaw at me forever, but you know, it didn’t. He was a murdering bastard, not too different from Kiko. I was sorry I had to do it, but I did it.’

Frank opened his mouth, then shut it.

‘I’m not going to let him kill my mother,’ Whit said. ‘It’s not going to happen.’

‘Usually I admire optimism,’ Frank said. ‘Right now this seems stupidity.’

‘But you’re going, too,’ Whit said.

‘Well, I’m stupid,’ Frank said.

They left in Frank’s BMW. Fifteen minutes later, a battered Jaguar pulled to a stop next to River Oaks Park, then circled around the neighborhood three times, and parked two streets over.

*

‘He doesn’t have Eve,’ Frank Polo said. ‘He doesn’t even have a face.’

They stood over the body of Kiko Grace, still sprawled on the floor of the condo’s breakfast nook. The whole drive over to the condo, Whit had felt like his skin was on fire, rushing to save his mother, rushing, possibly, to die. Let her see he hadn’t given up on her, hadn’t abandoned her. He was afraid she thought he had left her to be caught.

But the condo had been empty, the door unlocked, as if the killer didn’t mind if Kiko was found.

Gooch moved from room to room, making sure no one else was in the condo.

‘Kiko dead. Paul dead,’ Gooch said. ‘Guessing not a coincidence.’ His face was blanched. He leaned against a wall.

‘No,’ Whit said. ‘Dangerous world.’

‘You think?’ Frank asked. He prodded at Kiko’s shoulder with his foot. ‘You bastard, where is Eve?’

‘Your bravery’s a little late, Frank,’ Gooch said. But his voice was weak.

Whit said, ‘You okay?’

‘Fine.’ Gooch turned away.

‘We need to see if there’s anything here that could tell us where Eve is,’ Whit said. He pulled on gloves he’d gotten after last night’s shooting to finish cleaning Paul’s Porsche of his and Gooch’s prints when they dumped the car on a residential street. He handed a set to Frank and another to Gooch. ‘Don’t leave a trace you were here.’