Rusty Nail

CHAPTER 32

I CALLED THE hospital on the way back to Chicago, and Bernice put a very groggy Herb on the phone.

“I had a heart attack, Jack.”

I forced a jovial tone.

“Astonishing, considering the peak condition you keep yourself in. Have they scheduled surgery yet?”

“Wednesday. Doctor told me my arteries look like Interstate 90 during rush hour.”

“Look on the bright side. At least you’re not dying of cancer.”

A long pause. My attempts at humor weren’t working.

“Jack… if I don’t make it…”

“Don’t talk like that, Herb.”

“I’m having a triple bypass.”

“Everyone has a bypass or three these days. It’s like going in for an oil change.”

“An oil change only costs twenty bucks.”

Herb began to cough, and I heard Bernice yell at him to stop coughing or he’d tear his stitches.

“Look, Jack, if… if the oil change goes bad, I want you to know that you’re the best cop I know, and I love you like a sister.”

Herb began to sing the chorus of “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor, and Bernice took away the phone.

“He’s taking a lot of morphine, Jack. Don’t mind him.”

“What’s the prognosis?”

“He had more tests. They came back bad. That’s why they’re operating again so soon.”

“Why wasn’t this diagnosed earlier? He just had a colonoscopy.”

“I’m guessing it’s hard to diagnose a heart condition by sticking a camera up your ass.”

I’d never known Bernice to swear. The strain she was under must have been awful.

“I’ll call later.”

I made good time, stopping once for a fast food burger and fries and once for gas and some Yellow Bombers, legal amphetamine pills made with caffeine and synepherine and sold in packets of two. Truckers took them to stay awake. My lack of sleep had caught up with me, and mile after mile of nothing but flat, boring plains did nothing to keep me alert.

I arrived at the station at a quarter after four, heart pounding and palms sweating. I called Hajek, and he’d managed to get Mulrooney’s answering machine back to the lab without losing the messages. Of course, a voice print would only help with a conviction if we caught the guy, and I was no closer to catching him than I was when this case started.

I called up Al at the car rental place and asked if the Titanium Pearl Eclipse had been returned.

“Not sure. Hold on.”

He put me on hold for eight minutes, and by the time he picked up again my blood pressure was so high I could have put out a fire by pricking my finger.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… nope.”

Justifying manpower in the Chicago Police Department was tricky. We had no evidence of any crime in our district, other than on the videotapes, and no clear-cut connection between those and the rented Titanium Pearl Eclipse. And since the car was rented under an assumed identity, there was a good chance it might not even be returned.

But no stone unturned and all that crap. I scoured the station and threw together six cops and had them meet in my office.

“This is shit detail. Stakeout, teams of two, eight-hour shifts. Can’t interfere with your regular assignments, but I’ll sign off on overtime.”

I explained the target and what to do in case the target was sighted, and let them figure out the details.

Bains would hang me for the overtime, but maybe this would all be over before the paperwork went past his desk. We’d catch the guy, or I’d be killed, and in either case my concerns weren’t monetary.

After dismissing the troops, I called the Gary PD and asked for anything they had on Bud Kork, Charles Kork, Caleb Ellison, Lorna Hunt Ellison, and the daughter Bud claimed was dead. The fax machine whirred, and the info came chugging in. Lots of it.

My phone rang, and the desk sergeant told me there was someone in the lobby asking for me. Holly Frakes, Harry’s fiancée. I’d forgotten we were going shooting, and wondered how I could blow her off.

Then I decided, why the hell not? Maybe firing off a few rounds would help to release tension.

I met Holly downstairs. She wore a fitted tee that had VERSACE embroidered on it, and tight, faded jeans with tears in the knees that were usually bought by women half her age. Red pumps, probably by some obscure designer whom I couldn’t afford, rounded out the ensemble.

“Hi, Jack!” She smiled, apparently happy to see me. I endured a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I love your top. Who is it?”

I glanced down at the poodle fabric sweater I wore. “Her name is Kathleen B. Local designer.”

“You have to take me there.”

I could think of few things I’d prefer less.

Holly must have mistook my silence for confusion. “You’re still up for some shooting, right?” She lifted a pink leather satchel. “I brought ordnance.”

“Sure. Range is in the basement. Come on back.”

The desk sergeant nodded at me behind two inches of bulletproof glass, and buzzed us through the security door. I led Holly past a maze of desks, to the rear staircase, and we descended two flights of metal stairs, her heels echoing like hail on a tin roof.

The shooting range occupied the entire basement. It resembled a four-lane bowling alley, though the lanes went back as far as seventy-five feet, while a bowling alley ended at sixty. The rangemaster, a lanky guy in his sixties whom everyone called Wyatt, flashed tobacco-stained teeth at us as we approached. Wyatt had been here almost as long as Bill in Evidence. He was one of the only cops in the city who shot as well as I did, though I didn’t have a cool cowboy nickname.

“Hello, ladies. Qualifying or having fun?”

“Fun.” Holly placed her satchel on Wyatt’s counter and unzipped the top. I doubted anyone else in the world used Louis Vuitton as a gun bag.

“Whatcha got in here?” Wyatt stuck his beak into the bag, then eyed Holly. “May I?”

“Please.”

He removed a pair of impressive automatics; black barrels, slides, and grips, silver butts and trigger guards. Wyatt let out a low whistle.

“McMallin Wolverines. Designed around the classic 1911 Colt. Serious hardware. You compete?”

“Sometimes.”

“Quick draw?”

“Sometimes. You spotted the mods.”

Wyatt turned the guns around in his hands. “Recessed front and rear sights, burr-style hammer, wider trigger, and it looks like a dehorning job. Nice one too.”

“Thanks. The hammer is stock, but I did the sights, trigger, and dehorning myself.”

Dehorning involved rounding every sharp angle on a gun, so it didn’t catch on holsters or clothing. It could improve a draw by several milliseconds.

Wyatt sighted the gun, worked the slide, and ejected the magazine.

“Chambered for nine mil?”

Holly offered a full-wattage smile. “Forty-fives are too big, and I’m just a girl.”

“I noticed. But I’m guessing that doesn’t hold you back much.”

“Not much.”

I unpursed my lips long enough to speak.

“Can we get some headgear, Wyatt, or are you going to fondle her weapons all night?”

My glare cut off any potential wisecracks. Every time I came down here to shoot, Wyatt flirted with me. Every single time, for the last fifteen years. Now he didn’t seem to notice I was even there.

Wyatt grabbed some field glasses and ear protectors off the wall, and Holly handed me a weapon. It was slightly large for my hand. The grip was high but the Pachmary rubber made it comfortable. It was wonderfully balanced, though it had to go two pounds – twice the weight of my.38.

“It’s the officer’s model,” Holly told me. “Five-inch barrel instead of six.” She winked at Wyatt. “Bigger isn’t always better.”

“Amen to that,” he said, handing out the gear.

Holly took out a plastic bag full of shiny brass rounds. Since they weren’t straight from the box, I assumed them to be reloads. Wyatt noticed too.

“You load your own?”

“Lots of gun nuts think the nine-millimeter round lacks the stopping power of a.40 or a.45, but I’ve found that it’s the bullet that makes the difference, not the caliber. I pour my own lead and load my shells to 150 grains. The expansion and penetration can compete with anything out there. Design can make up for weight and velocity.”

I respected weapons. I even got a certain degree of satisfaction from them, as I would from any high-performance tool. But this woman was the Martha Stewart of firearms.

Holly popped her clip and loaded it. When she reached ten bullets, she slapped it in, worked the slide to chamber a round, and dropped it back out to add one more shot to the clip. I pressed the oversized release catch and did the same. We each filled a spare clip as well.

“Silhouettes or bull’s-eyes?”

Holly asked for silhouettes. Wyatt handed us two 25" ¥ 35" targets, each featuring the life-sized torso and head of a man done in black ink. On the chest was a white area the size of a pineapple, with the number five in it. On the head, an orange-sized circle contained a number ten.

Holly and I donned our gear and each walked to a lane and attached the paper to the overhead metal line with spring clips. I pressed a lever and the target moved backward on a pulley system, traveling down the range.

I watched Holly, and she stopped at fifteen yards. I did the same.

The lane floors were covered in a thick layer of sand, and at the end of the range was a pockmarked metal wall, tilted on a forty-five-degree angle. Rounds went through the targets, hit the wall, and ricocheted into the ground, where they buried themselves.

I started with a two-handed grip to get used to the recoil. The first shot surprised me. Not only was the trigger pull less than I expected – it moved like butter – but the recoil was extremely light and the muzzle rise minimal. Must have had a compensator built in.

I squeezed off two more rounds, both eyes open, knees slightly bent, letting the gun teach me how to hold it. The high grip helped steady the weapon, and I put both shots through the sweet spot in the head.

I tried a one-handed grip, angling my body sideways, sighting along my right arm. Three more shots, through the heart.

To be playful, I put the last five in the groin, then looked over at Holly.

As far as I could tell, all eleven of her shots went through the chest. We brought in our targets and traded papers. Not only were all of hers in the chest area, but they were grouped in a space the size of a silver dollar.

Wyatt brought more targets. He appraised Holly’s, then mine, giving us both nods of approval. We gave him our empty clips and he went off to fill them.

This time I sent the silhouette back the full twenty-five yards. I loaded another clip, sighted the target, and fired all ten shots at the head as fast as I could pull the trigger.

When I brought the target back, I saw I’d put all but two rounds through the ten-point circle. The other two went through the neck. It was a damn fine weapon.

I watched Holly fire her last three shots. Her face remained blank, but her eyes were wide and excited. Again, her target had a tight grouping in the chest area. Perhaps even tighter than the previous one.

The woman was good. Very good.

Wyatt returned with two more silhouettes. These were ten-yard targets, half the size of the previous ones. We exchanged our empty clips for full ones and hung the targets.

Holly glanced at me. I wouldn’t call her stare hostile, but it was far from friendly, and the ugliest I’d seen her. She pressed the lever, sending her ten-yard target past the ten-yard mark, all the way to the end of the range. Her eyes stayed on me the entire time.

I did the same with my target, squinting at the distance. It appeared to be about three inches tall.

I aimed, and let out a breath. My hand had the slightest tremor; my veins were still processing those Yellow Bombers I’d taken on the road. I placed my left hand under my wrist to steady it, tried to ignore the pain from the burn, then emptied my clip at the target.

Holly had watched me the entire time, her ugly scowl replaced by an equally unattractive smirk. I pulled in my target. Five to the head, two to the neck, and two outside the body. When Holly saw this, her smirk became a superior grin.

I raised my eyebrows, challenging her to do better.

She stuck with the one-handed grip, sighted the target, and fired so quickly, her finger was a blur.

When she brought her target in, I could see she had once again grouped every single shot in the chest.

Wyatt tapped my shoulder, indicating for me to remove my ear gear. Holly did the same.

“Damn nice shooting, ladies. Damn nice. I were the judge, I’d call it a tie.”

Holly folded her arms. “You think so? I notice she missed a few, that last turn.”

“Jack went for the head. You went for the body. Head is more points. I got the score as even-steven.”

He handed us each a fresh ten-yard silhouette and a clip.

“Let’s try quick draw. Four rounds. Weapons kept at your sides until I give the signal. Nine extra points to the one who gets them all off first. You game?”

I nodded. Holly flashed a dazzling smile and tossed her hair back, which Wyatt took for acquiescence. I shoved in the clip, chambered a round, and pinned up my target, taking it all the way back to the end of the line.

She’s better than I am, I thought. Probably faster too. But the head shot is worth more than the heart shot, and she always goes for the heart. If I can hit three, I’ll win even if she hits all four and outdraws me.

So the smart move would be to take my time, let her shoot fast, and win on score.

But I didn’t want to play it smart. I wanted to prove I was just as fast.

“Weapons at your sides.” Wyatt stood between us, but he was staring at Holly. We each relaxed our arms, barrels pointing at the floor.

“On three. One…”

I pushed out a breath, relaxed my shoulder, concentrated on my grip. The gun felt good, natural. But I still had tremors, and I hadn’t slept in over thirty hours.

“Two…”

I’d have to shoot one-handed. When you speed draw to a two-handed stance, the free hand meets the gun hand so fast, it throws off the aim before it has a chance to stabilize it, wasting valuable milliseconds.

“Three!”

My arm shot up on its own initiative, my trigger finger flexing fast, the four shots gone in an instant. The noise was deafening without the ear protection, but I still heard well enough to know I’d outdrawn Holly; her last shot went off a fraction of a second after mine.

My elation was short-lived when I noticed my target.

One shot through the head. Three misses.

Holly, as expected, placed all four of hers in the silhouette’s heart.

“Jack receives the nine points for speed, plus a ten-point shot to the head. Nineteen points. Holly hit the heart four times, five points each, for a winning score of twenty points.”

Holly glowed, her face bright as a camera flash.

“Not many people can shoot as fast as I can, Jack. I’m impressed.”

“Speed doesn’t mean anything if the accuracy is poor.”

“I’m sure you’re just having an off day.” Her tone suggested something contrary.

“Yeah. Well. Nice shooting.”

“Nice shooting.”

She came over and hugged me. Just two regular girls, celebrating marksmanship.

I endured the hug, which was tight enough to make me lose my breath. Holly had some serious muscles. I gave her a quick pat on the back, and when she released me she stayed within my personal space, her face so close I could smell her mint gum.

“Want to grab a bite to eat? My treat.”

“I’m sort of in the middle of a case.”

“Really? What kind of case?”

“Homicide.”

“Isn’t Indiana out of your jurisdiction?”

I wondered how she knew, then remembered I’d been a media darling of late.

“I’m not working on the Kork case. I’m working on something parallel.”

“Really? What?”

“Can’t. We cops are sworn to secrecy.” And I was getting uncomfortable with her being so close.

“Come on. Spill. I’ve spent every waking hour with Harry these last few days, and all he talks about is the adventures you two had. I always wanted to be a cop.”

I leaned back an inch or three. “You’re military, right?”

“Semper fi. How did you know?”

“You didn’t learn to shoot like that on a farm in Alabama, and you called your guns ordnance.”

“The lingo is tough to shake. I did a tour, when I was a kid.”

“So why didn’t you join the force? A lot of cops are ex-military.”

She hooded her eyes, as if she was about to share some juicy gossip. “I’ve got a few boo-boos on my record. Nothing major, but enough to keep me from being a law enforcer.”

I took a full step back and met Wyatt at the counter. Holly followed. We returned our gear and I asked for a broom to sweep up our brass.

“I’ll get it.” Wyatt grinned like a schoolboy. “It was a pleasure to witness such a fine competition.”

I felt a buzz in my pocket, and the beeping followed a moment later. I slapped the cell phone to my face.

“Daniels.”

“Lieutenant? This is Raider, Gary PD. Bud Kork woke up about an hour ago. He’s lucid, and talking up a storm. My chief said you’d like to speak to him on a related subject.”

My spirits jumped. “Yes, I would. I appreciate the courtesy call. When can I come?”

“Anytime is fine. You’ve got full access. Way we see it, you’re the one who found the guy.”

“I’ll be there in about an hour. Thanks.”

I pocketed the phone, Holly so close, she was practically wearing my pants. Her eyes shone.

“I heard everything. I want to come with you.”

“No.”

“I’ll stay out of your way. I just want to see him. Come on, I’m a cop junkie.”

“No.”

“I can help.”

“You’re a civilian.”

“A civilian who just kicked your ass on the firing range.”

I was beginning to see why she was with Harry. She was annoying in an eerily similar way.

“No, Holly. Thanks for the offer, but this is police business.”

“But that killer, he’s a man, right? I’m good with men. I can get him to talk to you.”

“Won’t work on this one.” I pictured Kork’s missing male anatomy.

“Please, Jack. Harry’s doing some kind of bachelor party thing tonight. Something to do with midgets.”

McGlade? That bastard told me he didn’t have any other friends.

“His buddies are taking him out?” I kept my tone neutral.

“No. He’s alone. Well, alone with the little people.” Holly tugged on my arm. “Come on. You have to take me along. I can’t spend my last night as a free woman watching infomercials on TV.”

I knew how that felt.

“Sorry, Holly. Can’t do it.”

She was on my heels all the way up the stairs, like a puppy. An irritating, yipping, undaunted puppy.

“Please.”

“No.”

“I’ll just keep you company for the trip. I won’t even get out of the car, Jack.”

“No.”

I walked out of the station and onto the street. The day had cooled down, and the breeze felt nice on my face. I walked around to the back parking lot, Holly still begging me. Perhaps beautiful women didn’t understand the word no.

“Come on, Jack. I’m a licensed private investigator. I can handle myself, and I’ve worked with law enforcement before.”

“We’re not working together, Holly. And this is getting silly.”

It was also making me uncomfortable. I didn’t want to be rude to her when I was standing up at her wedding the next day, but soon she wouldn’t give me much choice.

Holly was quiet for a minute, and I thought I’d finally gotten through. Then I heard the sniffle.

When I turned to look, Holly was all pouty and teary-eyed.

“I don’t have any friends, Jack.”

“Excuse me?”

Her shoulders began shaking.

“My job. I keep crazy hours. I don’t have a single friend. Why do you think I went to that stupid private eye convention? I could give a rat’s ass about the latest surveillance technology. I just wanted to meet people. Harry’s the first man I’ve been with in six years.”

“I’m sorry.” And I meant it from the bottom of my soul.

Holly faced me again, her cheeks glistening.

“Don’t you get lonely, Jack? When was the last time you had a girls’ night out?”

“Interrogating a multiple murderer isn’t a girls’ night out.”

“But it’s better than being alone. I’ve been alone my whole crummy life. My dad died when I was a kid, and we moved around a lot. I never had friends.”

The thought of someone so attractive being without friends was ridiculous, and I almost sneered. Holly read my thoughts.

“I wasn’t like this back then. I was very fat, and had some skin problems, and big old buck teeth. It wasn’t until my twenties that I lost the weight, went to a dentist, and had some work done. A lot of work done.” Holly put her hands on either side of her breasts. “These won’t be paid for until I’m too old to appreciate them.”

She wiped her hand across her eyes, and I had a surprising thought. If I could put my jealousy aside, I might like this woman. I knew how hard it was to lose a father at a young age. Plus, the fact that she’d had plastic surgery made her seem more human, less Charlie’s Angel. Though her taste in men was seriously flawed, Holly was strong, competent, funny, a great dresser, and had an energy that you didn’t see very often.

I wondered if I wasn’t falling victim to her charisma the same way everyone else seemed to. Then I wondered why I always overanalyzed everything. I hadn’t had a female friend since, well, high school. Here was one trying to make an effort. Would it hurt to bend a little? To maybe have someone to talk to?

It’s been a long time since I had someone to talk to.

Holly backed up, arms folded across her chest. “I’m sorry, Jack. Overreacting. Pre-wedding jitters, I guess. It’s been a tough week. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

My inner cop told me to shake hands and walk away. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t say, “You can come.”

“I can?” Again she lit up, and again I was subjected to a firm hug.

But this one I didn’t mind as much.

When she finally released me, we hopped into my Nova, and for the second time that day I headed for Indiana.