Hiding Tom Hawk (27 page)

“I killed her. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

Tom anxiously scanned the crowded tent for a body before realizing he was probably talking about Beth. “What do you mean?”

“I was trying to protect Beth and you, so I, um, took her. I rented this houseboat where I put her. But I had to leave and go after Marv and Gary too, because he was bad-mouthing me.”

“You mean you kidnapped and imprisoned her and left her alone.”

“Have it your way. Anyway, once I had her on the boat, I came back to shore to kill the gangster, the one they sent after
you
.” His tone had turned accusatory.

“Wyatt, I need you to give me your gun.”

“I left it on the houseboat.”

“You went to kill Marvin and maybe Gary and you forgot your gun?”

“Beth was being mean to me. This detective stuff isn’t easy. When I came back to the marina for the gun, I saw the boat sink. My life is over because I’ve killed Beth Kessler, the purest person I’ve ever met, and it doesn’t even matter now which one of us she would have chosen.”

Tom wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet. “What’s with the rope, Wyatt?”

He looked down as though seeing it for the first time. “Oh, this. There’s a poplar tree behind the tent, the kind that’s easy to climb. I was going to hang myself but I had to piss. It was nerves. You have to piss first if you want to avoid a humiliating suicide, you know.”

Tom became acutely aware that he needed the use of a urinal himself. “Yeah, so I heard. But something stopped you.”

“No, I did take a piss.”

“Something stopped you from hanging yourself, Wyatt.”

“Uh-huh. I started sneezing real hard the minute I touched that tree. I came in here to take a couple allergy pills, and I got sort of emotional, and you came. Does this rope look strong enough, Tom?”

Lord in heaven, Robert Matthews totally had his crap together compared to this poor kid. Tom put on a sympathetic expression. “Wyatt, look at me.”

“Huh?”

“Beth is alive. She didn’t drown on the houseboat.”

“Beth is alive?”

“Yes. She’s safe at home.”

Wyatt’s face glowed with understanding, burst into a beacon of light. “Oh thank God! You’re not going to shoot me, then?”

“I’m not going to hurt you. And Gary hasn’t been bad-mouthing you. You got that wrong.”

“I guess you’re actually a good person, Tom. I guess I was mistaken about you. Maybe you’ll put the gun away?”

“Sure. Look, I really have to take a leak myself. Start packing up. We’re going back to Beth’s B&B together, fair enough?”

“Go with you?”

“Yes, to stay with Beth.”

“With Beth?”

“That’s right. I need you to give me your wallet and your car keys.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I can’t watch you while I’m in the latrine pissing.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Let’s say you need my help. You are probably working for some California gangster but don’t know it. You nearly drowned Beth. You’re holding a rope with a noose in it. You made the noose wrong, by the way. Come on now, partner, give me your wallet and keys before I wet myself right here.”

“I guess I have no choice. You’ve got sort of a sarcastic tongue, you know.” He handed him a wallet and a key to the Firebird.

Tom searched the tent and car. Wyatt had told the truth. There was no gun. The first time this poor lad encountered a real bad guy, he would be dead meat. He told Wyatt he’d be right back.

Entering the communal bathroom, Tom looked at the stalls. Walls to near the ceiling, dark color. He waited for the gut reaction and none came. He entered the closest one, closed the door and stood still. Peace. It was tolerable. It was about as small a place as a person could be in, and it was tolerable. Something good happened in that tiny boat cabin besides rescuing a special woman. He was free!

Seconds later, standing at the urinal, looking contentedly at the forest through those high screened windows, he thought about Wyatt. Poor helpless kid, he had screwed things up, endangered Beth, and yet Tom felt sort of like a big brother. He felt good about dealing gently with him, making a connection. Maybe he could help Wyatt to freedom from his own fears. As he reached for his zipper, he heard a car starter motor and a powerful engine coming to life. Oh, shit, not the Firebird!

He streaked heedless past the sign telling him to arrange his clothes and wash his hands, and got to the camp road in time to see the Firebird brake lights flash at the entry gate. Who’d have thought a kid who was that disconnected would have an extra car key, but not keep it in his wallet like everybody else?

Chapter Eighteen

Tom drove the Nash—not the cool Firebird but the despicable Nash alone, not with Wyatt—back to the B&B. He saw no police cruiser so he drove up the drive. He panicked for a moment when he saw a large dark car, but it was a Cadillac, and police cars were never Cadillacs. He parked out of sight of the road and went into the house. Beth, Dani, and Gary waited for him in the foyer. Beth, leaning heavily on a cane, motioned him into the kitchen and the others followed. He took her in his arms and kissed her, not caring that they had an audience.

Gary closed the door. Beth said, “Tom, keep your voice down. I’ve got a new guest, a real nice man named Mr. Harold. He’s upstairs.”

That was all they needed, a stranger in the way. “Have the police been here?”

“Yup. Right after you dropped me off. I told them I got lost in the woods picking berries and had just found my way home. I stonewalled them about Angelo. Gary told them he still thought Horst set the store fire and asked if the body might have been his. They wouldn’t answer. We claimed we have no idea where you are. I don’t think they believed any of it, but they didn’t cuff me or Gary and take us in, either. They’ll be back once they officially identify Horst, maybe sooner. Where’s Wyatt?”

“I lost him.”

They stared blankly at him, this man of towering, monumental incompetence. He needed to steer the attention off of himself. “Where’s Robert?”

Dani shrugged. “After you brought Beth home, he went back to his mother’s house in Calumet. Renada’s making nice with him again. They seem to be talking Mother Matthews into some kind of business deal. Tom, we’ve got a bigger problem than Wyatt or Robert. I called my sister at her office in L.A. They’ve released Tony.”

“No. They couldn’t.”

“They did. The DA told the ADA he couldn’t proceed without your testimony. Tony’s out and accusing you of the oven murder. He’s claiming a conspiracy against him and his brothers. If we go back, he’s going to find a way to kill me, you, and anyone else he sees as a threat.”

Tom grabbed the refrigerator door handle to steady himself. The door came open. There was lots of beer in there. Gary stepped toward him and closed the door.

“Oh, sorry,” he mumbled.

“Hey, no problem. We were talking while you were gone, and we’ve got a new plan. We’re going to engage Tony on our turf and at our time.”

“Engage him? How?”

Dani explained. “You and I are going to telephone him, tell him what an asshole he is, and invite him here. We’re going to make him overconfident by making him think Harv and Marv are still alive. We’ll be watching the airport when he gets here and it’ll be four on one. We’ll totally take him down.”

“We’re going to telephone Tony Sartorelli and taunt him to come to us?”

“Kill or be killed, Tomahawk.” This from Gary, who’d obviously been listening to Dani. “We’ll make this house into a steel trap, and spring it on him.”

Tom saw a major flaw. “We can’t use this place. The police are probably on the verge of coming back and throwing a net over us. We need another place.”

Beth shook her head. “I’m not leaving my house. I have to run my inn.”

Gary scowled. “For whom? Robert and Renada won’t be back soon. When he called he was sobbing that his mother is sick with food poisoning. Imagine. I would have thought you’d need an elephant gun to bring that old crone down. Anyway, other than the people in this room, you’ve only got that one new Harold guy to worry about. Aunt Mildred can cover for you.”

“Why would she do that? She’s pissed at all of us.”

“She’ll help because she owns a piece of this place. Don’t look at me that way, guys. I had to sell to her. It’s a long story.”

“Aren’t they all? You didn’t even see a need to tell me when you did this?” She balled her fists.

Dani put her imposing physical presence between them before Beth could attack her cousin. “You two can settle that later. Tom is right. We can’t do it here. We pick another place and let Tony find out about it. Tom and I will watch for him to arrive at the airport. We’ll follow him to the trap where you and Gary will be waiting.”

“Waiting where? Where won’t the cops find us in this little town?” Beth was softening a bit.

“Gary, what about your factory, where we put Harvey?” Dani suggested.

“It’s been closed. If we suddenly move in people will notice and ask questions.”

“Mildred’s then,” she decreed.

Gary shook his head. “She can’t have police poking around either. She depends on that cash crop of hers. I would be embarrassed too. To keep her electricity bill looking reasonable, we bring in some of the power she needs from my mine property. Robert wired it up.”

“I hope nobody died when he turned it on,” Dani said unkindly. “Anyway, if she’s just growing pot she probably wouldn’t even do time.”

“Don’t count on it. We’re in Michigan, not California, Dani.”

Tom had been drumming the table nervously. He stopped now. “We have a place to go, a cabin on the big lake. The guys who rented it won’t need it anymore. In fact, it’s a place Tony might head to without any prompting.” He described Harv and Marv’s rustic retreat.

Beth nodded. “I like it. You can live with it, Dani?”

“Yeah, I guess. Let’s do it.”

“Gary?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Then it’s settled. Let’s get to work on building a trap out there for our pal, Tony,” Tom said. “Our other problem is Wyatt. He’s obsessed with Beth, and he may try to snatch her again. At the least he could get in the way.”

Gary nodded agreement. “Plus, Beth told that crazy kid I shafted him and he’s after me.”

“Sorry about that,” Beth apologized. “What do we do, Tom?”

“I think if we all talk to him we can settle him down. I’m going back to that campsite now, so I can catch him when he comes back for his stuff. I figure he’ll wait at least an hour, but I’ve got to get out there.”

“I’m coming with you,” Gary said.

They reached the campground twenty minutes later, less than fifty minutes after Wyatt had slipped away from Tom. His site was cleaned out. Gary cleared his throat. “You might want to stop underestimating him, Tomahawk.”

“Yeah, you may have a point.”

****

The next morning Tom and Dani entered the Chamber of Commerce office at the back door with Mildred’s key. They closed the front blinds and she took up the telephone. “It’s six a.m. in L.A. Just waking Tony up should make him mad as hell.”

The office, small as it was, had an extension phone and Tom picked up as Tony’s number rang. It rang seven times. “Who the hell is this? What time—six frigging o’clock!”

“Hi, Tony. It’s Danielle. Guess who’s with me, doll face? It’s Tom Hawk, the sweeper from your pizza parlor, do you remember?”

“Dani? Who did you say you’re with?”

“With Tom Hawk, the fellow who found the tiny body you were roasting. I wish you’d introduced me to this guy when you hired him. We get along so well and he’s so well endowed, if you get my drift. Oh sorry, that’s a touchy point with you, isn’t it, babe?”

“Dani, you witch, you’re lying. You get right back here and maybe I’ll forget how you let me down. I don’t believe you’re with Hawk, not for a minute.”

“Oh, you don’t. Say hello, Tom.”

“Hey there, Tony, lose your tan in the jailhouse? Been cooking any of your friends lately?”

“Aw, this can’t be. No, no, no, Dani, you’re not doing this.”

“But I am. As you know, your brothers are here too, sweetie. But they’re just holed up in a lakeshore cabin day after day. Have they got some kinky thing going between them?”

“I can’t reach them. You stop that dirty talk. You go to hell.”

“If that’s the way you feel, bye-bye.”

“Wait, Dani, we can make a deal. The Marine’s testimony won’t convict me. This ADA is a moron. All I want is my autobiography back and then I’ll leave you and the Marine alone.”

She looked at Tom, who shrugged. “We don’t know what you’re talking about, Tony. We’ve gotta run. Tom and I are going on a picnic on a real private beach, if you get my drift. See you in court.”

“You filthy, cheating, worthless…”

Dani hung up and grinned at Tom. “What do you think?”

“I think he got your drift. What was that autobiography business?”

“I have no idea, the man can barely write a complete English sentence, but I’ve never heard him so mad. He’ll be here on the airplane tomorrow morning. Will he have a gun, do you think?”

“I doubt it. It’s risky now. They’re starting to search passengers and luggage because of the Cuban skyjackings. I’m amazed Renada chanced it. Maybe she didn’t know.”

“He could get a gun here.”

“There’s only one gun store. I was about to go there when Renada gave me hers. Tomorrow’s Saturday. I’ll call and find out find out if it’s even going to be open then.”

He did, and it wasn’t. Mildred slipped into the office. “Well?” she demanded.

“We invited our friend Tony to visit, and we think he’s on his way.”

“You two are certifiably nuts. Anyway, I was just at the coffee shop. Will Clubb was in there.”

“Who?”

“Detective William Clubb. Quit smirking. You call him Billy Clubb only at your great peril. He’s the only one down at that police station bright enough to find his way to the office every morning. Our local cops have soured on you, Tom. They now surmise that maybe you did the L.A. oven murder yourself, and killed this Angelo character here to cover up.”

“Swell. I suppose they’re accusing me of drowning Marv, too.”

“No. They’re all talking about the boat sinking, but there’s no word about finding a body. Maybe he got trapped inside and they’ll find him when they get a diver down there. Regardless, if you’re done with my telephone, I’d rather you moved on.”