Gunning For Angels (Fallen Angels Book 1) (14 page)

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

–
Friedrich Nietzsche

Lunch in hand, Bud pushed open the door to the tiny room where he had left Chip sorting through files. He was startled to hear a woman’s voice and, entering, he stood staring in shock.

Eve Hargrove was sitting – no,
draped
– across Chip’s utilitarian desk.

At the sight of him, Chip’s face flushed with guilt and Eve’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“Daddy dearest,” she said mockingly.

Chip shot her a startled look, but Eve never took her eyes off Bud as she playfully said, “Your son’s trying to seduce me.”

Chip’s face burned red.

Scowling, Bud slapped the paper bag lunches on the desk.

“What’s for lunch, Pops?” Eve said with a devilish glint in her eyes. She looked in the bag, wrinkling her nose in distaste. 

“What do you want?” Bud said
through clenched teeth.

“It’s a business call
. Unfortunately, it’s not your business.”

Bud said,
“Nobody
I
need murdered – so…?”

Eve gave a silky smooth laugh.

“What do you want?” Bud said.

Eve pouted, slid off the desk and stood. Her movement caused her exotic perfume to drift over him. Chills jangled down his spine.

Eve said, “I’m here to see Frank Ficus.”

Bud narrowed his eyes, surprised.

What’s she up to?

Chip interrupted, “She came here looking for Frank.”

“He hasn’t been on the force for over ten years,” Bud said, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Eve shrugged helplessly, “My bad.”

“What do you want with Frank?”  Bud asked.

“You know, Bud, I’m not sure you’re the right person to be confiding in.” Eve turned to Chip
, caressed him with her eyes, “Tomorrow night?”

Bud grabbed Eve’s arm and pushed her out the door. Bud slammed the door behind them and shoved Eve into
the wall, “You stay away from – !”

“Old man,” Eve hissed. 

Bud froze.

Her words seemed to capture vapors – silent fears that shape-shifted up from deep within
him.
She had put a voice to his darkest fears.

Witch.

Eve stepped up to him. He could almost taste her perfume. She leaned in like she was trying to whisper a secret into his mouth – like she was out to kiss him...

Afraid to breathe, Bud had the sensation of being caught on a barbed wire hook. Any motion, any thought – would cause her poisonous barbs to dig deeper into his flesh.

As if reading his thoughts, she gave him a wicked smile that dumped ice water down Bud’s spine. An instant later, she was gone and Bud realized that he was trembling.

Old man.

Bud wiped sweat from his brow. Her words, that repugnant smile – they echoed in his head. He clenched his fist and barged into the file room where he grabbed a fistful of Chip’s shirt. “You’re not seeing her – you’re not ever going near her!”

Chip broke free of his grasp and opened his mouth to speak, but the ferocity in Bud’s eyes halted him. Chip hesitated and, looking away said, “Yeah. All right.”

Bud felt a searing pain race down his left arm and he reflexively gripped it, sagged backwards with a groan.

Chip jumped to his side, “What is it? Your heart?”

A relentless weight hunkered down on his chest and then two blasts of searing pain. Bud heard Chip’s voice saying something – frantic – what was it? The ominous, oncoming monsoon – he was out in the open, unprotected. He flinched at the distant sound of Eve’s laughter. He reached out, trying to touch it –
her
– his fingers finding purchase on the thickness of nothing as he slipped deeper and deeper into the abyss.  The last thing he remembered thinking was…

She is the darkness.

All universal moral principles are idle fancies.

–Marquis de Sade

Flying down the highway with Jack at the wheel, Enid gazed wide-eyed at the Superstition Mountains that, even to her untrained eyes, looked stark and dangerous. She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hike up there, unless they had a death wish. They were heading toward Apache Junction, which Jack had told her was famous for being the home of a ghost town and the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine. 

Her imagination fired by the thought of lost treasure, she peppered him with questions until he finally gave in and told her the story. She settled back and let his words flow over her as her eyes rested on the mountains that seemed so aptly named.

“The story my grandmother told me was that a German settler named Jacob saved the life of a member of one of the richest families in the area. To thank him, they told him the location of their mine, which was full of gold treasure. Jacob’s business partner got greedy, attacked him and left him for dead. Jacob survived long enough to draw a map to the gold mines and gives it to the doctor right before he died.”

“What then?” Enid said
.

“Thousands of people for the past hundred years searching for the lost gold – nothing.”

“You think it’s real?”

“I doubt it. I think Jacob was messing with people’s heads.”

“Why?”

“Maybe he wanted to be remembered for something and that was his last chance – who knows.”

“You ever look for it?”

Jack grins, “I don’t think you can call yourself a Arizonan unless you hiked up there at least once looking for the lost treasure.”

“Nobody hikes in Florida.”

“The whole state is three feet above sea level – what’s there to look at?”

“Have you ever been to Apache Junction?”

“A couple years ago. Got hired by a guy who worked part-time re-enacting gunfights at the ghost town for tourists. He thought his wife was cheating.”

“Was she?”

“Yeah.”

“Was his gun real or fake?”

“Always assume they’re real.”

“Did he try to shoot her?” Enid said.

“No, but he sledge-hammered the hell out of the boyfriend’s car.” 

“Boyfriend?” Enid asked in a sharp voice.

“What do you want me to call him?”

“Cheating sleazebag! What happened then?” Enid said.

“My check cleared – so…” Jack shrugged. 

“How’d you become a detective?”

Jack’s lips tightened. “This is our exit.”

They found Cormac Delrow’s house easily. The whole town seemed to be a series of squat, ugly houses. Cormac’s house had the nicest truck in the driveway, which gave it the sense of being the best home in the neighborhood.

“
I don’t want to wait in the car. It’s too hot.”

Jack hesitated.

“You won’t even know I’m there.”

Jack looked at her doubtfully.

She gave her most winning smile, which was rusty. 

Jack sighed, gestured for her to follow him.

Before they reached the front door, a cacophony of barking dogs hit their ears. Jack rang the front doorbell and the barking increased to a frenzy.

From within the house, a man’s shouted, “Shut up!”

Cormac Delrow opened the door. He shoved the dogs back with his legs.

Enid stepped behind Jack, thankful for the iron-barred door.

Cormac was in his late sixties and would have been six-foot four if he had been able to stand straight, but his neck was bent to the left like a gnarled tree. Enid had the feeling that he might have been handsome – a long, long time ago.

Jack held out his identification, shouting to be heard above the barking dogs. “My name is Jack Fox. Are you Cormac Delrow?”

“What’s this about?” Cormac shouted.

“I was hoping for a few minutes of your time.”

“Shoot.” He made no move to invite them in or quiet the dogs.

“I’m doing a background check on a former employee,” Jack shouted.

“Since when do detectives do employee background checks?”

“Ann Smith.”

Cormac narrowed his eyes, jabbed a finger at Enid. “Who’s
she
?” 

“Enid!” she shouted, trying to look harmless. Even with the dogs, she didn’t want to wait in the car.

“Wait here.” Cormac herded the barking dogs into another room and shut them in. He unlocked the iron grate, motioned for Jack and Enid to enter.

They followed him into a living room, which was filled with the vibrant colors of Mexican art  – skeletons with voluptuous breasts, skulls, and flowers in every shape and size.

Enid gazed around the room with wide, admiring eyes.

“You like it?” Cormac said
.

“They’re beautiful,” Enid breathed.

Cormac notched his thumb in Enid’s direction, “Kid’s got taste.”

Enid paused in front of a painting that somehow reminded her of a bullfight – or a teacup. 

Cormac smiled proudly, “Paid a pretty penny for that one. Worth every cent.”

“What is it?” Enid asked.

“Damned if I know,” Cormac answered.

Jack said, “I collect Day of the Dead figurines.”

Enid shot him a surprised look. What was that crap he’d been feeding her about not lying? And what the hell was a Day of the Dead figurine?”

“A doll collector, huh?” Cormac laughed.

Jack laughed, “I like ‘em.”

“You want something to drink?” Cormac asked. “Mountain Dew?”

“No thanks,” Jack answered before Enid could say anything. 

“Well, then, take a load off,” Cormac said, “Fire away.”

Enid sat on the couch while Cormac and Jack sank into well-worn armchairs.  

“Ann Smith,” Jack said. “She worked for you at – ?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cormac waved his hands. “Why you need to do a background check on a dead girl?”

“The dead girl’s daughter is my client.”

Cormac leaned forward. “The baby?”

“Not anymore,” Jack answered with a smile.

Cormac rubbed his stubbly chin, “Yeah, I guess not.” He looked at Jack, “How’d she turn out?”

“Fine.”

“She’s not…?” Cormac glanced at Enid, “Dancing…?”

Jack hesitated.

“Shit!” Cormac slapped his hand on his knee. “I hate to see girls end up on the pole.”

Jack raised his eyebrows.

Cormac waved his hand, “Just ‘cause I owned it, doesn’t mean I want to see a baby grow up and hang off a pole like her mama, does it?”

“Can you tell me about Ann?” Jack asked.

“Sweet as they come. Dumb as a rock-sack.”

“How so?” Jack asked.

Cormac shrugged, “Client would feed her a line of shit and she’d buy it – hook, line and sinker. Most girls know better or at least learn quick to know better. Except for the ones who love the bad boys. She wasn’t one of those. Ann wasn’t like the other girls – she didn’t belong there. Didn’t know the score. I think she had a falling-out with her family. Fell in with the wrong people.”

“You remember any names of the ‘wrong people’?”

“Some guy. I don’t know. Same guy – different face. They’re all the same – like they come off an asshole assembly line. She got knocked up and the asshole cleared out – left her high and dry. That’s right! If it wasn’t for Viv…” Cormac gave Jack a cagey look. “What exactly are you looking for?”

“Viv – as in Vivian Hargrove?”
Jack said.

Cormac pressed his lips tight. “How much do you know?”

“Ann Smith had a baby named Jeni. When Ann died, Vivian took in the baby and raised her.”

“You know Viv?”

“Not personally.”

“So, you know Viv used to be a stripper.” He said it more as a statement than a question.

“I’m not out to ruin anybody’s reputation. Jeni wants to know who her real mother is.”

“Then you know that Vivian Hargrove has the power to hang you up by the balls if…” Cormac glanced at Enid with a frown. “I’d rather handle a rattlesnake than mess with that woman.
Capisce?
”

“My client simply wants to know who her real mother is.”

“Are you supposed to tell me that?”

“No,” Jack said.

Cormac frowned. “Viv would have my hide if…”

“You keep in touch with her?”

“Hell no!” Cormac laughed, “Not Ms. High-and-Mighty ‘never-knew-nothing-about-being-no-stripper’ Vivian Hargrove! She’s got a gold-encrusted social register stuck up her ass so far she wouldn’t look at me if you had a gun to her head.”

“How so
?”

“She got a whiff of a higher rung of a ladder, and she lunged on it like a rabid dog. That’s one thing about Viv – she never missed an opportunity. She had a knack of getting on the lap of money. I got on her once for taking too many breaks – she took her smoke break on the side of the club and I told her we weren’t running an open market – she needed to take her smoke break with the other girls in the break room. She looked me in the eye and said ‘I don’t smoke.’ I pointed at her lit cigarette and said ‘What’s that? A Johnny Walker?’ She laughed and said, ‘I’d look pretty funny standing out here without a prop, now wouldn’t I?’ She nodded toward the parking lot where a beat-up truck was pulling in and she said, ‘I choose my laps,’ and brother – she wasn’t kidding!”

Jack said, “Is that how she met her husband, Daniel Hargrove?”

“That pervert who owned the bank – yeah, Viv zoomed in on him like a heat-seeking missile.”

“Why was he a pervert?”

“Viv’s thing was dressing up like a baby girl with a lollipop and lace undies. Truth be known, it gave me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Why do you think she did that?”

“Every girl had her own angle. I don’t care what drives them, as long as the bills get paid.”

“How did Viv and Ann get to be friends?”

“They weren’t really friends. At least I don’t recall them hanging out together. When Ann had the baby and brought her in to show the girls, they all made a big to-do over her. I’m not one to oo-and-ah over a baby, but she
was
the prettiest little thing I ever saw. I forgot her name was Jeni.”

“What did everybody think when Viv took the baby – after Ann died?”

“Surprised. Shocked, really. I never saw Viv as the warm-and-fuzzy mother type – even though she already had a kid and, like I said, I never saw that she was that friendly with Ann. The girls raised some money to help Viv with the cost.”

“How about Ann’s death? Any thoughts it might not be an accident?”

“No way it wasn’t an accident! Besides, who would want to kill Ann? She didn’t have a pot to piss in. It was pure bad luck – hit a phone pole. I heard she was dead before they could load her into the ambulance.” Cormac looked at Jack, “What’s she like? Jeni?”

“Gorgeous,” Jack said.

Cormac nodded, “Ann was pretty, not gorgeous. That dimwit she took up with – I can’t believe he had a decent piece of DNA in his whole branchless family tree. Maybe he had a hot grandmother – you can never figure on these things.”

“Maybe.”

Cormac smiled sadly, “Time keeps moving, doesn’t she?”

Jack stood up and held out his hand, “Thank you for your time.”

Cormac stood up and shook his hand, “I can’t think that I actually helped with anything.”

“You did.”

Cormac led them to the front door, “If you run into Viv, could you
not
pass along any message from me? I’d like it just fine if she never knows you and me met.” 

“Done.” Jack handed him a business card, “If you have any more information or if I can be of any help to you…”

Cormac took the card, nodded and waved as he went back into the house.

Hea
ding back to Phoenix, Enid said, “What now?”

“What do you think?”

Enid thought. “Vivian Hargrove?”

Jack touched his nose.

Enid tried to hide her smile of pride.