Matt Hilton - Dead_s men dust

"Pity we couldn't take the scenic route so I could see even more of your?ne town."

We were in a rental car we'd picked up at Adams Field, otherwise known as Little Rock National Airport, following a four-hour?ight from Tampa. The car was a regular sedan, nowhere near as?ashy as Rink's Porsche, but clean and comfortable nonetheless. More trunk space, too. Rink drove. It was easier that way. This was his old stomping ground, and he could get us to our destination much quicker.

That had been the plan. Yet it seemed to me that Rink must've been a cabdriver in a past life, judging by the winding way we took through town.

"Yeah, Le Petit Roche sure has come a long way," Rink said as he pushed the sedan through a downtown convention and entertainment district. I think Rink himself was impressed. "I think you're forgettin' that this was Bill Clinton's?rst capital city, Hunter."

"I'm not forgetting, Rink. I didn't know. Full stop."

"Man, you're just too ignorant for your own good. Admit it, you weren't expecting anything like this, were you? We've even got the brand-new, one-of-a-kind William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park right here in Little Rock," Rink said, indicating off to his right with a wave of his hand. "It's sure a sight to behold."

"Like Disney World?" I asked.

Rink frowned. I smiled unabashedly.

"We far from Louise's place?" I asked.

"Not too far. Another?ve minutes or so."

"You said that?ve minutes ago."

"I did. Now ain't that strange?"

"Harvey going to be there?"

"Said he'd meet us at a diner where we can speak to Louise on neutral ground. Doesn't want to be seen around her house in case anything comes back on him." Rink gave a shrug. "I don't know what he's gettin' all bowed up about. It's not as if Petoskey's the goddamn Godfather or nothin'."

"Like you said, though, he's got connections," I said. "I'm starting to worry that we're underestimating his out?t. City this big and important, he must be a key player if he's controlling the politicians."

Rink shook his head.

"Petoskey's a two-bit asshole playing at the big time, just like I told you. It's not as if he's got the governor in his pocket, just some minor politicians and low-ranking cops who're taking bribes for favors."

I grimaced, but nodded.

Rink shot me a look. "I'm telling you, man. There ain't nothin' to get riled up about. I know his type. Thirty years ago, he was froggiggin' for meat to put in his momma's stew, now he's eatin' the best cuisine and drivin' around in?ashy cars. He's poor white trash actin' like a big important hotshot. On the grand scale of things, he's nobody. An' he knows it."

"Maybe, but he seems to have put the scare into John. He must have some sort of weight behind him."

"From what you told me, John ain't too hard to scare. Ran away from this weasely Shank character. I take it your brother's not the bravest dude on the planet?"

My head shake was as much from memory as from disagreement.

"He wasn't running from Shank. Shank was Jennifer's problem, not John's. There were others involved."

"I know, he'd shacked up with this Blake woman, too," Rink said. "He was runnin' from his marriage."

"Among other things," I said.

Rink pulled the rental over to the side of the road. He sat looking at me.

"What haven't you told me, Hunter?"

"I didn't think this had anything to do with what happened before," I said, "but now I'm not so sure." I was pensive for a moment. Rink continued to give me the eye. "I told you me and John had a falling out, yeah?"

"Uh-huh. But you never told me why."

My face felt like clay, cold and clammy, as I rubbed my hands over my features. I was already tired, but more than that, thinking about John's predicament made me bone weary.

"Not long after I resigned from the job, he came to me with a problem," I said.

"Go on," Rink prompted.

"He'd got himself involved with some real heavy-duty shit. Stupid son of a bitch had been playing cards and writing IOUs he couldn't hope to cover. First went his car, then the house. But it wasn't enough. He had nothing left and had no one to turn to."

"So you did the honorable thing?"

"Yeah, I bailed them out. Jenny doesn't know it to this day. I gave John the cash to pay it off. But an addiction being what it is, John went and blew it on another sure bet. I called him on it-the money-and that's when we had the falling out. It was just a stupid argument."

"You didn't talk to him again?"

"No, Rink. I didn't even see him again."

Rink nodded. "That's when he run out?"

"He must have been planning it."

"Punk."

I shrugged. "After that, the only way I could think to help him and Jenny was to face down the guys he owed and make them back off. Wasn't easy. They weren't as easily intimidated as Shank was."

"They didn't back off?"

"No."

"You're slipping, Hunter."

"Seriously," I said. "Short of going to war with them, there wasn't much I could do. So instead, I arranged for John and Jenny to disappear for a while. It was all set, they were going to go off together, assume new identities, everything. Then John went and messed it all up. Unbeknownst to all of us, he'd been seeing this Louise Blake on the side. Before we knew it, they took off together. Just?ew. Gone."

"Leaving poor Jenny and his kids behind to take the?ack," Rink concluded.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I did everything I could for her. Helped her get back on her feet. I had space in my house, but she refused. Said she needed a place of her own. John didn't even get in touch and let her know where he was."

"And you want to help this peckerhead?"

"He's still my brother, Rink."

Rink raised an eyebrow, but then gave a soft nod.

"Plus, I'm doing this for his wife and kids."

"Okay. But I'm surprised she wants him back."

"Jenny doesn't want him back," I explained. "She's looking for some kind of closure. I think she wants me to?nd John so she can spit in his eye."

"I'm with her on that one."

"Me, too. Took a lot of work sorting out the problems he left. As I said, they were a major out?t with major connections. They put out a contract on him."

"Shit," Rink said.

"In the end they saw reason. I explained that John had double-crossed us all, that we were all equally aggrieved. So I made an agreement with them that they didn't go near Jenny or the kids. The alternative was that I'd call back up and wipe them out."

"They believed you were capable?"

"I think it was more fear of the unknown," I said. "They didn't know who I was or what I was prepared to do. But some of them had heard stuff. I believe in the end they decided it was more trouble than it was worth. You could say that going to war with me wasn't pro?table."

"Did they call in the contract on John?"

"Who knows what they'd do if he ever showed up again."

"Which is why you think he's missing?"

"Nah." I shook my head. "There's more to it than that. John has other reasons. I guess the point I'm trying to make is this: He's a selfish son of a bitch. Doesn't give a shit for anyone but himself. But I don't think he'd be running from the likes of Petoskey if it's only about a couple of hundred dollars' gambling debt." I paused, summing up exactly what it was that I was trying to say. "Something big has happened. Something he's so frightened of that he's disappeared again and he doesn't want to go back. Louise Blake has been left high and dry, the same as he left Jenny. That means he's attempting to cut all ties, so he can disappear without a trace. You don't do that for any piddling gambling debt."

Rink agreed.

"Petoskey's an asshole," he reiterated. "But I see where you're coming from. What's he gonna do? Maybe order an ass whuppin', maybe a broken arm or something? He's not going to order John's death, is he?"