Loose Ends (29 page)

“Then how could they have known?” yelled Wizard. “There was only the three of us there! The Suit wouldn't have said anything! They even know which one of us did which kid!”

“No way! I haven't said a fuckin' word! I swear, not a word!”

Lance looked at Rolly and said, “They told me that you also whacked a guy last week. Someone by the name of Bobby Singh.”

“You stupid, stupid fuckin' cocksucker!” screamed Wizard, pinning Rolly's head against the tree and choking him with one hand while punching him in the face. Rolly's nose crunched like a piece of celery and two teeth slid down the back of his throat like wayward Chiclets.

Rolly screamed out, more in fear than in pain. “Don't, Wiz! Please! I haven't said a word! I swear on my mother's grave!”

“Well, how else could they have found out?” seethed Wizard, slowly releasing his grip. “How the fuck could they have known that unless you've been talking?”

Rolly shook his head, spraying blood across his shirt and Wizard's face. “I haven't been! No way! Maybe it was The Suit!” Rolly looked at Lance and said, “He's the one who ordered us to kill the kids. 'Cause they saw him. They was loose ends!”

Wizard slapped Rolly across the face with the back of his hand and said, “The Suit didn't know about Bobby Singh! How the fuck do you explain that!”

“I don't know. I just don't….” Rolly wiped his face with his hands and then wiped his bloody fingers on his pants.

Wizard spun around to face Lance. “So how come they haven't arrested us yet?”

Before Lance could reply, Wizard continued. “I'll tell you why! They don't have enough evidence on
anything, or else all three of us would be sittin' in the slam. It was pretty dark the night we tried to do 'im in the alley. You're probably the only one the pig can really identify. That fuckin' scar of yours. Plus the interior light of the car came on when you got out. I bet he's only guessing about Rolly and me.”

Lance shrugged and said, “I don't know, but it sounds like they're thinkin' of doin' somethin' real quick.”

“So who are these two pigs? When did they say they'd get hold of you next?”

“They didn't say, but the crazy one said he'd be in touch soon, and if I didn't cooperate he'd either kill me or put me in jail.”

“Are these pigs the narcs from hell, or what?”

“No. They belong to some Intelligence thing, but I don't know what it's called.”

“What's their names?”

“I only know the name of the crazy guy. The guy we thought was Eddy. His real name is Jack Taggart. Don't know the other guy, but he does what Taggart tells him.”

“See if they'll give ya their home numbers. Get licence plate numbers, anything to help us find out where they live.”

“I'll work on it.”

“Yeah, do that. And hurry before they decide to scoop us!”

“Who's this fuckin' bozo who told you he was a rat in the first place? It seems to me he's the one who set us up,” said Lance heatedly.

Wizard reflected for a moment, then said, “I don't think so. He's always been right on in the past. Besides, he'd have too much to lose, what with me lining him up with little girls. Not to mention free powder. Naw, our problem lies with these two fuckin' pigs. I'll get you to
call them … tell 'em you got to meet them. If we whack them, our problems will be over. Especially this Eddy … or Jack, or whatever the fuck his name is.”

“Yeah, but they're cops!” said Rolly.

“Fuck, what's the difference? They're just a couple of guys, same as everyone else.”

“Where and when?” asked Lance.

Wizard slowly looked around. “Why not right here? It would be nice if they're both together. But if not, just make sure we get the pig from the back alley. He's the only fucker who could point a finger at us!”

“Yeah, I agree with ya there,” replied Lance.

“One more thing,” said Wizard. “Who else have you told about this?”

“Nobody else knows.”

“Keep it that way. Keep your mouth shut about everything! That means the bros, too. No need for anyone to know about the kids — or the pigs — for now.”

“Fuck,
I'm
not stupid,” said Lance, looking at Rolly.

“Hey! Wait a minute —”

“Shut up, Rolly!” yelled Wizard, before looking back at Lance. “No, I know you're not stupid. In fact, before today, I was gonna ask ya if you were interested in somethin'.”

“Interested in what?”

“If I make national pres, what say I back you to replace me as president?”

“You would do that?” Lance noticed the scowl that Rolly gave Wizard.

“Yeah, I'll do that. We just gotta take care of a few loose ends first.”

“Let me shoot Taggart. He was gonna kill me, so let me return the favour! I wanna pop one in each eyeball. You owe me that!”

Wizard chuckled, then said, “Anxious to get your DD, are you? Yeah, no problem. You can kill 'em both if you want.”

“The fuckin' heat's gonna come down real bad,” said Rolly.

“I can handle the heat,” said Wizard. “Nobody should be runnin' this club who can't!”

Jack glanced impatiently at his watch. What was keeping Lance? The harsh cry of a seagull over the ocean caused him to look up, but too many trees blocked his view.

Danny sat on the park bench beside him, with his head back and his eyes closed. It looked like he was sleeping. Jack knew better. Stress had reduced both men to silence.

Two children zoomed by on skateboards, but Jack only caught a partial glimpse of them through the trees and shrubbery.

A rustling sound in the bushes behind him told him a squirrel was probably storing food for the winter. It would be peaceful here, he thought, if it weren't for what they were doing. More comfortable than waiting in a cemetery and thinking about the dead.

Lance walked through the trees toward them. Jack nudged Danny, who sat forward in anticipation.

Lance stood an arm's length away, staring down at them. For a moment, nobody spoke. The glow of a street light illuminated beads of sweat on Lance's forehead.

“Well?” asked Jack.

“I've got something for ya!” replied Lance, reaching inside his black leather jacket and pulling out a tape recorder. He handed it to Jack and said, “You were
right! Wizard wasted the little girl and Rolly did the boy. It's all here for ya to listen to.”

Jack took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He gripped the recorder tightly to try to stop his hands from trembling.

Jack unlocked his car and Danny got in beside him while Lance sat in the back. He rewound the tape and pushed “play.” When it reached the place where Wizard admitted that he shot Maggie, he subconsciously ran his fingers across the grip of his pistol.
This is it. Time for justice.

He stopped the recorder and looked at Danny. “You wanted proof. Well, we just got it!”

Danny silently nodded.

Jack started the recorder again. Seconds later, he knew he wasn't done.
The Suit! The goddamned Suit ordered them killed!
“No! Jesus Christ!” he yelled, slamming his fist into the dash. His eyes brimmed with tears and he bit his lip. He looked in the rear-view mirror and briefly locked eyes with Lance before looking away.

Minutes later, the voices on the tape ended. Danny reached over and shut it off.

Jack sat in silence for a moment to regain his composure, then turned in his seat and spoke to Lance. “You did good. In fact, better than I expected.”

“I've never been so fuckin' scared in all my life. Do you have any idea what they'd have done if they decided to search me and found the recorder?”

Jack nodded.

“So what are ya gonna do with the tape? Use it as evidence?”

“That's not going to happen. I told you I would protect you and I will.”

“You call today protecting me? Man, this is gonna be a long ten years!”

“It worked out good. I told you that Rolly would get the heat.”

“Yeah, you're right about that. Wiz smacked him a few good ones. The dumb bastard looks uglier than ever now!”

“I wish I had seen it,” said Jack, “but I didn't want to take the chance of them spotting any surveillance.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Lance. “These guys are gonna ace ya, and I don't want any of your buddies thinkin' I had a part in it.”

“We can stall for the time being,” said Jack. “Tell them we called you and said we're going out of town for a while. Keep them on the hook. We have to find out who The Suit is!”

“Then what?” asked Lance.

Danny looked at Jack for a reply. Their eyes met briefly, then Jack turned back to Lance. “That's none of your concern. We'll look after you. Just make certain you look after us!”

“I hear ya.”

Jack looked at Danny and said, “There's something personal I need to talk to him about. Wait here.” He
took off his gun, put it on the seat beside Danny, and got out of the car.

Moments later, Jack and Lance strolled into a heavily wooded area in the park.

“You got a problem with me from this morning?” asked Jack. “We can deal with it now.”

Lance looked around. There was nobody else in sight. He turned to face off with Jack and said, “I figure I got about three inches on ya, and maybe forty pounds. Plus I notice you still favour your left side. You really think you could take me?”

Jack shrugged and said, “Probably not. That's why I jumped you by surprise this morning. But that's not the point.”

“I saw you leave your piece behind.”

“Forget the badge. This time it's just you and me. You can look at it as payback time.”

“That's not the only thing I saw back there.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is personal for you, ain't it? You knew those kids, didn't you?”

Jack paused for a moment. His stomach muscles had been constricted, expecting to receive a boot or a fist from Lance. He slowly exhaled, then took another breath before replying. “They were my niece and nephew.”

“I figured it was something like that.” Lance was silent for a moment, then said, “If it was any of my kids that got whacked, I figure I would go crazy too. Naw, it's okay. I don't have a hard-on for what you did.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Both men continued to walk and Jack asked, “Why didn't you just go along with them and have us killed?”

“I was wearin' your recorder. Hard to deny what was said.”

“Yeah, but you could have made an excuse, said you forgot to turn it on or something.”

“I know, I thought about it, but…”

“But what?”

“It wasn't that it would really bother me to kill you two. It's just that I'm more upset with guys in the club like Wizard and Rolly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Things have changed. When I was a young fucker, without brains, I used to think it was exciting. Sometimes it was. But not now. Lookin' back on it, I wish I'd quit years ago.”

“Why?”

“The club's not what it used to be when I first joined. We used to have good times … go on rides … things were different. Sure, we were a bunch of badasses sometimes, but not like it is today. When I first joined, you'd have never gotten a tattoo for knockin' off some kid! Fuck, we'd have knocked you off! Now, we hardly ever ride. It's all about makin' money. We've become a bunch of fuckin' businessmen. The guys in power just use the club as an image, for protection to make more money.”

“A lot of people like making money.”

“Yeah, but they're not real bikers, at least, not what we used to be. It just ain't worth it now. It'll only be a matter of time before the Vietnamese, the Russians, the Indos, or some other group takes over the business. Being a biker used to represent freedom to do whatever the hell you wanted. Where's the fuckin' freedom when you're always lookin' over your shoulder wonderin' when the competition is going to put a slug into ya!”

Jack nodded that he understood.

Lance looked at Jack and said, “Then there's the heat, but you guys are the least of our worries.” He
smiled briefly and added, “Well, I used to think that until I met you.”

“I guess I have put a burr up your ass.”

“You've done that, all right.”

“You did good work today. I heard you on the tape, pumping Wizard for information about The Suit. Remember when I said you would be working for us for ten years?”

“How could I forget? Now it's nine years, fifty-one weeks and two days.”

“Make it five years now.”

“No kiddin'?”

“No kiddin'. If you find out who The Suit is, I'll say we're even. If I find out first, then you're still looking at serving your country for another five years.”

“Deal!” said Lance, sticking out his hand.

Jack felt his firm grasp.

As they shook hands, Lance said, “One more thing,” and buried his left fist deep into Jack's midriff. Jack buckled over. His already battered ribs were racked with pain as his lungs gulped for air.

Lance said, “Guess I did have a bit of a hard-on for you over this morning. Now we're square on that!” He released his handshake.

Jack managed to give a thumbs-up sign, and Lance smiled and walked away.

It was 2:10 a.m. when the telephone shattered the silence in Wigmore's small apartment. It took four rings before his sleepy voice answered hello.

The voice on the other end was that of a man. Feminine, but definitely a man. A man with a slight lisp.

“Hi! I'm the one who's been admiring you down at
the Oceanside Lounge. You know who. I'm the one you winked at the other night, you cheeky devil.”

“I never winked at anyone! Who is this? How did you get my number?”