The Taxman Killeth (11 page)

“Listen, you go tell Ms. Simpson
that I’m not about to take work home, especially when she’s the cause of the
slowdown. Also tell her that I have no interest in having a relationship with
her.”

Pickens’ last few words brought
Todd’s attention back to his current situation.

“What?”

“You give her that message.”

Immediately Todd moved forward,
grabbed Pickens’ shirt collar, and jammed his knuckles into the accountant’s
Adam’s apple, preventing him from talking. Then he kicked the front door closed
and issued a warning to Pickens.

“Don’t cry out to your friend,
or else there might be a big commotion and the souffle won’t be the only thing
ruined.”

Todd edged Pickens into a
darkened room off the hallway. He snapped on the light with his free hand.

“I need the answers to a few questions.
Number one, what were you told to do while I was doing the taxes at the law
firm? And second, who gave you the orders?”

Pickens’ eyes widened as he
realized who the person standing in front of him was. Todd eased his grip so
that the man could answer.

“He told me to stay home and
stay quiet. And I don’t know who he is.”

Todd tightened his hold.

“Honest.” Pickens’ pudgy hands
reached for Todd’s wrist.

“You don’t know the names of the
people at the accounting company you work for?”

“What does the company have to
do with this?”

“Wasn’t it someone at the
company who told you to stay home?”

“No. It was a hulking brute who
was waiting for me in the garage one evening when I got home. I’d never seen
him before. He threatened me and... Edwina. I couldn’t repeat the things he
said he’d do to her if I didn’t cooperate. He told me to stay home for just one
day, and then I could continue my job and forget about him.”

A chill passed through Todd’s
body. Joey may have been hoodwinked.

“What did the guy look like?”

“I don’t know. It was dark in
the garage and he looked like a mountain.”

Todd looked at the squat man
before him. Looking like Pike’s Peak to this man wouldn’t be difficult.

“There’s nothing you could
identify him by?”

Pickens thought.

“Bad breath and ragged
fingernails. I could feel them dig into my flesh.”

“You go back and see to your souffle,
Pickens. I doubt I have to tell you not to mention my visit.”

“Don’t worry. I’m getting used
to this amnesia.”

Todd freed Pickens and went for
the front door.

“Come back again,” Edwina called
from the end of the hallway. Todd saw Pickens look skyward.

“Sounds inviting,” Todd
answered. “But no, I don’t think I’ll be back.”

In San Francisco, Todd headed
for a cheap hotel that rented rooms for twenty minutes at a time, if you wanted
it. He didn’t relish sleeping in an alley another night. First he stopped at
the Greyhound Bus station, where he retrieved his satchel from a locker,
emptied the pockets of his bombardier jacket, and placed the contents in the
satchel. He needed a cloth coat, one less noticeable than the pricey leather
one he stashed in the locker along with the Stetson. Todd managed to buy one
from a street lady with a cart filled with collectibles. It was hard getting
her to part with it until he upped the price to twenty-five bucks. The jacket
had a spreading seam at the shoulder and a ripped lining, but it offered some
warmth against the chill of San Francisco evenings.

On the way to the hotel, he
passed several public telephones and lingered longer at each successive one,
contemplating whether or not he should ring Amy. He doubted that Pickens would
say anything to her about his visit; he may not even link the two of them
together. And she wouldn’t dare ask Pickens... Or would she? he wondered. He
decided to dial her number to prevent her asking questions, he assured himself,
not because he couldn’t stand going through the rest of the night without
hearing her voice.

“Hello.” She sounded anxious.

“Everything okay?”

“Now that you called, yes. What
did Pickens tell you?”

“A mountain told him to do it.”

“What?”

“Some man was waiting for him in
the garage one night and told him what to do, but he didn’t know the man, nor
was he able to see his face.”

“Is that how it’s usually done?”

No, Todd silently said, but he
didn’t want to alarm her.

“Maybe he’s been told to keep
quiet.” In a way Todd was telling the truth.

“Didn’t you shake it out of him?”

“Shake what out of him?”

“Names, addresses...”

“No, there was someone else
there.”

“His roommate. Maybe the
roommate knows something.”

“Doubtful. Talking about his
roommate, accountants must make good money.”

“I would think having a roommate
would imply the opposite.”

“Not when you’re talking about
this roommate.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Never mind. You haven’t had any
additional telephone calls or any untoward visits from mountainous brutes, have
you?”

“No, I’ve been bored here since
you left. I’m eating poorly, too. Perhaps you should save me from myself and
come back.”

“Amy, I told you...”

“Yeah, I know. But the nights
are chilly; you can’t spend them on the street.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a place
to stay.”

“Oh, a better offer.”

“There couldn’t be a better
offer than yours, Amy.” He almost told her how much he missed her, stopping
himself when he remembered that he didn’t want to encourage her. There was no
use in doing so.

“Good-night, Amy.”

Chapter 12

Alone With Michael

Amy spent a restless night
worrying about where Todd was staying and whether it was a safe place. She
thought of his sister. He had said that he and his brother-in-law did not get
along, but had not revealed the reason why. Perhaps Todd’s current situation
might bring about forgiveness on Michael’s part. He was an ox, but Todd was
family. The next day was Saturday, and Amy resolved to go back to Jennifer’s to
find out whether Todd was staying with his sister.

In the morning Amy dressed in
old jeans and a bulky sweater. She laced up her scuffed white running shoes
before calling a taxi. She wanted to tell them to send anyone but Sam, but didn’t
think it necessary.

As it turned out, Sam was a
dream in comparison to the young stud she got. The whole way he complained
about his unhappy marriage and finally asked if she was married. When she
replied affirmatively to avoid a hassle, he asked if she was happy in the
marriage. Eventually Amy refused to answer any more questions, and he shut up.
She didn’t bother to ask him to wait. She’d rather have Sam on the way home,
she thought, as she fingered his company card in her jeans pocket.

Today there were people on the
sidewalk and traffic moved along the street. She had more confidence in her
mission than on the previous occasion. The inside of the building was quiet;
she wondered whether anyone was at home. Amy rapped gently on the second floor
apartment’s door. Michael opened the door.

“The librarian is back.”

“Assistant. Is Jennie here?”

Since Michael was fully dressed
in a dark blue sweat suit instead of in his underwear, she decided it was safe
to enter the apartment after being invited. Once the door was closed, she
noticed how forbiddingly quiet the place was. Odd, she thought, as she recalled
the shuffling noises and cries the children had made during her former visit.

“Been meaning to stop by the
library and pay you a visit.”

“No need. I only work part-time,
and my hours vary from week to week.”

He moved closer and she backed
further into the living room.

“Jennie,” she called out.

“I guess this is one of your
days off.”

“Actually, I was on my way to
work, when I decided to drop in. I guess Jennie’s not here.”

“Nope. She took the kids down to
the story hour at the library.”

Amy’s throat tightened.

“I guess I forgot,” she managed
to say. “I’d better get down there now.”

Michael blocked her way to the
apartment door.

“Like a beer, or are you
classier than that? I don’t have any Chivas, but I do have some rot-gut sour
mash.”

Amy stood tall and demanded that
she be allowed to leave. Relieved when he stepped aside, she made for the door.
His hand reached out and pulled her backward by the hair. Amy fell against his
chest and felt his free hand trying to nudge up her sweater. Her scream brought
the same hand up to cover her mouth.

“Hell, woman, no one’s going to
pay any attention to that. People yell and scream all the time around here. So
lie back and enjoy yourself,” he said, releasing her hair in order to spread
his hand across her belly, yanking her back against his penis.

Amy tried to squirm out of his
hold.

“Matter of fact, I like it when
women yell.”

He uncovered her mouth and
brought her down on the floor with him.

“You bastard,” she shouted,
spitting up into his face.

Michael straddled her, while
untying the cord to his sweat pants. Amy pushed at his thick thighs. Knowing
that she would be unable to budge him that way, she attempted to reach up with
her nails to scratch at his face, but he kept out of reach, smiling the whole
time.

“Michael!”

Jennie had just walked in the
door. Two young toddlers clung to her denim skirt while she held an infant in
her arms. One young child buried his face in his mother’s skirt.

Michael roared with laughter and
released his hold on Amy. She immediately stood.

“My God, I’m so sorry.” Jennifer
reached a hand out to Amy, who was about to flee when she remembered why she
had come.

“I need to talk to you,” Amy
said to the young mother.

Michael had managed to quiet
down and wiped some tears from his eyes.

“I wasn’t going to do anything,
Jen, just kind of teasing a bit.”

“Take the children into the
kitchen and give them something to eat.”

“Sure,” he said, rising to his
feet. “I’ll leave you both to your girl talk.”

The boy hesitated to let go of
his mother’s skirt until she squatted down and kissed him on the forehead.

“Be a good boy. There’s some ice
cream in the freezer. Your Dad will give you a double scoop.”

After Michael and the children
left the room, the women spoke in whispers.

Jennifer began to apologize
again, but Amy stopped her.

“It’s not your fault. I just don’t
understand how you can live with him.”

“The children...”

“Especially because of the
children. Jennie...” Amy could see the pain on the woman’s face and halted her
criticism. “I came because I thought Todd might be staying here.”

“He’d never do that.”

“Why not? He’s your brother.”

“A year ago, Michael was dealing
drugs. He’s not now. But at that time he believed it was easier to sell heroin
and coke than to work a nine-to-five job. Todd found out about it and wanted to
report him to the authorities. I talked him out of it by promising that I could
make Michael stop. And he did stop, more out of fear of Todd’s threat than for
me and the children. But Michael has never forgiven my brother.”

“He probably saved your husband’s
life.”

“I know. Still, Michael resents
Todd’s intrusion into our lives.”

“Do you have any idea where Todd
would go?”

Jennifer shook her head.

“Todd is very closed-mouthed
about his life. Joey was different; he used to tell me a lot of things he
probably wasn’t supposed to. If Joey were the one missing, I’d have a pretty
good idea where to find him.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere in the Tenderloin
District. It’s a rough part of town, with some grungy bars and strip joints,
but Joey enjoyed drinking there. Alcohol was a big problem for him. He and Todd
argued on many occasions about booze. Sometimes I wonder how Todd could have
entrusted his life to such a drunk.”

“Sounds like a family trait,”
Amy bit out, wondering how Jennie could entrust her children to such a violent
father.

“Oh, no, Joey wasn’t like
Michael. He was a good guy. Just didn’t know when to cap the bottle.”

“Do you need some company on
your way down to the library?” Michael asked from the doorway to the
squared-off hall.

“I guess I’d better be going,”
Amy said. She didn’t like the fact that her voice seemed to quiver. She had
almost forgotten that he was nearby. “Good-bye, Jennie.”

“If you wait a minute, I’ll slip
on my shoes and come with you.” Michael persisted.

Amy stood and faced him.

“Don’t ever lay a hand on me
again, nor ever come near me.”

“Hey, lady, you came here
looking for trouble, not the other way around.”

“I’ll see you to the door.”
Jennifer had risen and moved between Michael and Amy. Michael turned away and
headed back into the kitchen to answer one of the children’s calls.

“Do you think you’ll hear from
my brother again?”

“I hope so.”

“If not, will you look for him?”

“Either way, I’m going to look
for him. He needs help and can’t keep pushing people away.”

“Then I’d like to stay in
contact with you, if you don’t mind?”

“But I can’t come here again.”

“You’re right. Gosh, we’ve been
doing so much talk about the library that it seems like the logical place to
meet.”

“What about Michael showing up
there?”

“The only thing Michael reads is
the sports pages. He’d never show up there. He’s just a loud-mouth, Amy; please
don’t take him seriously.”

Amy’s head and back still hurt
from his brutal behavior. It was awfully hard for her not to take him
seriously. But Jennie’s eyes, the same color as Todd’s, pleaded with her.