Full Tilt (Rock Star Chronicles) (13 page)

Glancing around, Karen picked up the pipe, smelled its pungent contents, set it down, and returned inside.

Knowing she’d better get back upstairs, Karen headed for the steps. But a door on the way—probably a closet—forced her to a standstill. The baby Jesus figure could be behind that door, or Millie’s dog tags… One quick look would pacify her.

She rested a hand on the knob. Listening intently for noise at the top of the steps and hearing nothing, she opened the door.

The room was dark and smelled strongly of dirty socks. She felt for a switch and flipped it. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, revealing much more than a closet. It was an unfinished portion of the basement. Concrete floor. Cluttered workbench. Probably Eddie’s stuff. Shelving with odds and ends, boxes of funnels, brake cleaner, and starter fluid. Jugs of antifreeze, drain cleaner, and paint thinner. But no baby Jesus.

There was one more door across the room. Padlocked. If Wesley had invaded her property, she had a right to check behind that door.

Hurriedly, she studied the unfinished walls and beams. There. A small gold key, hanging on a nail by some old wreaths. She grabbed it, rushed to the bottom of the steps once more, looked to the top, heard nothing, and headed straight for the heavy metal lock in the unfinished basement.

When she opened the door, the key still in the lock, the stench overpowered her. Don’t breathe! She slammed the door shut, keeping a hand on the doorknob.

What can it be?
Nothing inside a home was supposed to smell like this.

Something was dead wrong. Maybe even something dead.

She had to keep going. This was Everett’s family. One last look and she’d be out of here.

Lifting her arm, she buried her nose in the crease of her elbow, hoping her sweater would filter out the fumes, Karen pushed open the door again. Still repulsed by the odor—a cross between cat urine and fingernail polish—she coughed violently.

With her free hand Karen fumbled for a light switch. Finding none, she stepped aside and let the overhead lights from behind shine into the darkness. Her eyes fell to a jumble of containers, tubes, hoses, and clamps—including a silver kettle with what looked like a candy thermometer hanging over the edge. On the ground were propane tanks, one-liter bottles, rubber gloves, and containers of lantern fuel, muriatic acid, and gasoline.

He’s making bombs or drugs…

When she leaned left to allow more light into the lab, she caught a glimpse of a piece of twine hanging five feet in front of her. A light. Karen’s heart slammed high in her chest as she stepped into the darkness—careful not to disturb anything—and reached out for the string.

Clunk.

Something had dropped on the concrete floor behind her. She spun, releasing her arm from her face.

It was a man, backlit and standing next to a gray duffel bag.

“Surprise.”

She knew who it was when he spoke—Wesley.

13

EVERETT AND EDDIE BUNDLED
up and left Pappano’s in silence. Everett closed his eyes, relishing each step of freedom and even the stiff, winter wind that assaulted him as they trudged the three blocks to Karen’s Honda.

On the way to the bank, Everett came close to laying into Eddie for lying to him. The verbal lashing was right there on his tongue, but he relinquished it to God instead. Just left his aggravation at the foot of the cross, turned his back on it, and kept his mouth shut—at least until he could speak rationally.

Eddie ran the extra money into Pappano’s while Everett crept along for a few blocks in the Honda. Turning the car around, he gradually worked his way back to the restaurant.

“Done?” Everett asked as the frigid air blew into the car with Eddie’s return.

“Done.”

Everett looked behind him and merged into traffic. “I’ll bet that feels good,” he said, then winced. “Sorry. Bad choice of words. Who’d you pay?”

“Mike.”

“So, you wanna talk about all this?”

“What’s there to say?”

“Start with Mr. B.” Everett tried to keep his voice calm. “Who is he?”

“Look, Ev, the less you know, the better. Can we just drop it?”

“No we can’t! I’m involved now, man.”

“That was
your
choice! You didn’t have to go in, get the captain all ticked off.”

“And you didn’t have to lie to me!”
The nerve!

Eddie shook his head and fixed his gaze out the window.

Everett drove and waited, quickly realizing he wasn’t going to get any more information unless he kept prying.

“Look, I was there for you last night, I paid your debt, and I’m a big boy. The least you can do is tell me who these people are… He threatened Karen!”

The car rolled on in silence, and Eddie didn’t flinch in their emotional game of chicken for another minute or so. Just when Everett was about to blow a gasket, Eddie put his window down several inches and started talking. “Captain’s real name is Dominic Badino. They call him Brain Picker. You don’t want to know why.”

“What’s with the
captain
?”

“He runs the show. Second in command only to the boss man. Mike, Sal, Paulie—they’re all just wiseguys, foot soldiers, for the top brass.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? I could’ve handled it.”

Eddie looked out his window at the passing buildings, and Everett wanted to pound him in the arm.

“Who’s the boss?” Everett pressed.

“Guy named Frank Mendazzo.”

“I suppose he has a nickname…”

“You really want to know?”

“Yeah.”

Eddie looked over with a smirk. “Machine Gun.”

“Machine Gun Mendazzo…
great
.”

“This is what happens when you get involved in my life, brother. It’s like you said this morning, we Lesters got the baggage. That’ll never change.”

“I shouldn’t have complained this morning. I felt bad for Karen and got down on myself. I’m sorry.”

“But it was real. That’s how you felt. Are you supposed to suppress those feelings just because you’re religious?”

“That was nothing but the enemy—”

“Who’s the enemy?”

“Satan.”

Eddie stared straight ahead at the red brake lights of the cab in front of them. “Well, there’s one thing about you that hasn’t changed.” He chuckled. “It’s still all or nothing with you, isn’t it? You’ve really bought into this religious stuff, Satan and all.”

What was I thinkin’, mentioning a foreign concept like Satan to Eddie?
“Why’d you lie to me?”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth about the vig payments and the loan—and that you were dealin’ with the mob?”

“I was ashamed, okay? What do I need to do, spell it out for you? Bow down and tell you how humiliated I am?”

“Look, if it’s the money, I don’t care about that. It’s you I’m concerned about—”

“My world’s caving in, Ev.”

“Man, if you want to change, there is a way. God’s set me free from the addictions, all the drugs, and the bondage of all the rotten childhood memories. I’ve even forgiven Dad, in my heart. I wish he were still here, so I could tell him…”

Eddie pursed his lips, shook his head, and stared out the passenger window toward Central Park. “I could
never
forgive him.”

“You think the old Ev could have? After all the beatings and mental abuse? But listen, bro, with God living in here,” Everett rested his hand flat on his chest, “anything’s possible.”

Eddie flipped down his visor, looked in the mirror, and peeled back a Band-Aid. Examining a cut that had scabbed over on his forehead, he ripped off the bandage completely, wadded it up, and flicked it out the window.

“Bro, you’ve tried everything else. Nothing’s made you whole. Why don’t you just acknowledge your need for Him?”
There. It was out there for Eddie.

Large snowflakes began falling, and Everett turned the wipers on. The Honda hummed southbound on Fifth Avenue toward the financial district and the lot where Eddie had left his car. For a few minutes, there was silence except for the muffled noise of horns and city life outside.

“Look, Ev, all that’s happened to you, with your faith, is great. I’m glad that’s worked for you.”

“Worked for me? You say it so casually, like it’s one of a bunch of options, like diet or exercise or yoga. Dude, this is the
only
thing that can transform you!”

“You sound just like Mary did when she went off the deep end, you know that?” Eddie huffed. “Exactly! Gimme a break.”

Although he’d usually been inebriated when they talked, Everett clearly remembered the days when his sister would preach at him over the phone while he was on tour with DeathStroke. And here he was, guilty of it himself. Although Mary later apologized for those years of what she called judgment and legalism, Everett suddenly understood her boldness—and urgency.

It had all been about love and a faith that was real.

Like Everett’s life back then, Eddie’s was disintegrating. He was so fragmented and miserable, so out of control that, like Mary had, Everett feared for his brother’s life. He truly believed he might be the only person who would ever have the opportunity to confront Eddie with the truth about the decision of an eternity.

“I’m sorry,” Everett said. “I don’t mean to sound like I’ve done something great by giving my life to God and that you’re beneath me if you don’t. That’s not true. He saved me—through the love of other people. All I did was believe. I just want the same for you. I want to spend eternity with you.” Tears filled Everett’s eyes.

“There’s been too much damage, my friend. And I got too much to do to sit back and try to talk myself into believing in something or Someone who’s supposed to love me but has done nothing but fill my life with pain. No offense.”

“But, man—”

“You’re gonna need to hang a right on Ninth, comin’ right up.”

Everett lost his train of thought as he quickly maneuvered the Honda over one lane and made the right.

“Now you’re gonna hang a left up here, into New York U.”

“You parked at the college?”

“I can usually get away with it during the day. We’ll see. Campus police may have gotten me after all this time.”

Everett backed the Honda into a spot near the Amanti, which was covered in salt with chunks of snow clinging to its rear fenders and fresh snow beginning to blanket the windows.

“I gotta get that thing washed.” Eddie reached for the door handle. “Listen, I can’t thank you enough, bro—”

“Hold on, Eddie.” Everett put the Honda in park, turned the heat down, and faced his brother apprehensively. “Tell me what’s going on, financially.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“I don’t mind loaning you money. But it’s not like you’ve ever needed to borrow before. Are things that tight?”

Eddie sighed, closed his eyes, and dropped his hand onto the dashboard. “We’ve got a lot of debt right now. Let’s just put it that way.”

“How’s the job?”

“Job’s fine. I’m just not makin’ enough to support our lifestyle. Mortgage company’s all over me. I got late car payments. And Sheila spends like there’s no tomorrow. Clothes. Things for the house. Stuff for the kids.”

“But she’s working.”

“At the Fashion Mart, but all that money goes right into her pocket. That’s her funny money, ya know.”

“Does she know how tight things are?”

Eddie groaned and turned toward the stately buildings on the snowy campus. “She says we wouldn’t have these problems if it weren’t for my gambling.”

“Is that true?”

“It’s been out of hand. I’ve been using a lot of my paycheck to pay debts.”

“Gambling debts?”

“Yeah.” Eddie faced his brother with a troubled look. “And I’ve borrowed against the house to pay credit cards and car payments. That’s why I had to call you.”

“I’m glad you did.” Everett paused to gather his thoughts and sighed. “I’m gonna be honest with you. The gambling thing is first on the list. You’ve got to get free from that. If I find out more about it, will you check yourself in somewhere so you can kick it?”

Pulling a bulky load of keys from his winter coat, Eddie lifted up the small black remote and held down a red button. “Check that out.” Steam churned from the Amanti’s exhaust system as the car rumbled to life. “It starts from here. I think I left the heat on, so she’ll be warm when I get in.”

“Will you do it?” Everett persisted, as if he was dealing with a stubborn child.

“I told you, I’ve been to Gambler’s Anonymous—”

“I’m talking about a
residential
program. Somewhere you stay until you’re better.”

Eddie dropped his head into his hand.

“I’ll pay for everything,” Everett said, “and I’ll pay your salary and normal commission for the time you miss off work. Please, bro. You’ve got to do this.”

“I’ll lose my job if I do that.”

“Tough! You’ll get another one. Would you rather lose your life?”

Eddie shook his head. “My life’s already ruined.”

“Dude, besides God, this is the next best thing I can offer. Will you do it?”

“Look. I got a clean slate now, thanks to you. Let me just see how it goes.”

“But—”

“I’ll think about the treatment, Ev. Go ahead and do the research, get the details. I’ll consider it.”

“Until then, no more betting.”

Eddie nodded. “No more.”

“I’m gonna be praying for you.”

“Have at it.” Eddie chuckled and hoisted his hand toward his brother.

Everett clasped the hand with both of his. He wanted to pray with Eddie, but his brother was ready to go. “You take care.”

“You, too.” Eddie opened his door, got out, and looked back in at him. “Brrrr. I gotta make a couple stops on the way home. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you back at my house.”

“We’ll see.”

Eddie slammed the door and sauntered through the snow to the Amanti. Lifting the driver’s side windshield wiper, he held up a bright pink ticket in two fingers. With a grimace, he jerked out a curse, sending hot venom into the darkening afternoon. He ripped the ticket in half, tore it several more times, and tossed the remnants into the snow. Not looking back, he rounded the door, slumped into the Amanti, gunned it backward, and roared away.