The Taxman Killeth (21 page)

Amy walked to the door and
called out Michael’s name.

“So you’re the cause of this.”

“Yes. I put on the chain. Jennie
had nothing to do with it.”

“She let you in.”

“I forced my way in. She thought
you had forgotten something and had come back. If you remove your weight from
the door, I’ll undo the chain, and we can discuss this.”

“Right, babe.”

The door shut. Amy looked around
for a weapon. She reached out for a nearby broom. The handle poked into
sensitive areas could be quite effective, she thought. Amy undid the chain
lock. She took a deep breath and waited for Michael to bluster his way into the
apartment. There was a loud crash in the hall. Amy opened the door in time to
see Todd lifting Michael by the neck of his sweatshirt. Michael didn’t look
ready to stand back up on his feet.

“Todd, wait. We have to get out
of here. With all this ruckus, the police will surely show up.”

“My sister?” Todd let go of
Michael and went to pass Amy.

“You won’t be much good for her
in jail,” Amy reminded Todd.

He swung around.

“I’ll be back. You lay one hand
on my sister or the children, and I’ll kill you.”

“Like you did Joey Landis,’
Michael spat out.

Amy looked up and saw Flora
staring down at the scene. Amy tugged at Todd’s arm.

“Quick, we’ve got to get out of
here. She’s probably already called the police.

Todd followed the direction of Amy’s
eyes. He saw a rotund, floral print body pull back from the stairwell.

Michael’s laugh hounded them out
of the building.

Chapter 22

Shelter

There was no argument about who
should drive when the sound of sirens could be heard getting closer. Amy pulled
the rental car out of the space with ease and drove cautiously down the block.
As they rounded the corner, they passed a police car.

“Close.” Since she wasn’t a good
whistler, only the sound of air passed through her pursed lips. She was aware
of the rigid body next to her. Todd didn’t move until they were a block away
from Kay’s Victorian house.

“Stop! I’ll get out here.”

“But you’ve left some things at
Kay’s.”

“It’s not a good idea to pull up
in front of her place with this rental car. It will only attract attention. I’ve
been entering and leaving by the back way.”

“Fine.” Amy pulled the car to
the curb.

“What are you doing?”

“Parking. You don’t expect me to
leave this heap in the middle of the road, do you?”

“I expect you to take the car
back to the rental agency and forget everything.”

“Can’t.”

“I know, you think you’re in
love with me.”

“Besides that, I plan on using
the car when Jennie shows up with the kids.”

After a complete rundown of her
conversation with Todd’s sister, she expected to see a small sign of relief on
his face. Instead, he was shaking his head and drumming his fingers on the arm
rest.

“You don’t know when to bow out,
do you?”

“Todd, I’m never bowing out of
your life.”

Somehow Todd knew she was right.
He would certainly remember her, even if in the months ahead he should find
himself on death row.

“I can’t stay long at Kay’s, but
I can help you get your things together and give you a lift back to wherever
you’re staying.” She saw the question in his eyes. “Todd, I must go home. I told
Jennie that I’d be there waiting for her.”

Todd nodded. Reluctantly, he had
to accept her help, although he still felt that he was putting her in deeper
and deeper jeopardy.

During the ride back to his
hotel, Todd explained the deal he had worked out with Morgan. He would probably
be spending most hours at the bar waiting for Morgan to show up with the
photograph of Joey’s lady.

“But you said Morgan didn’t
think they were dating.”

“No, he didn’t think they were
cozy enough.”

“Could Joey have been doing a
deal behind your back?”

“No way.”

“Then she might be the
connection that he had for the job?”

“Potentially. I’m hoping that I’ll
recognize her. If not, I might be able to get a lead on her by showing the
photograph around.”

“Get two.”

“What?”

“Two photographs. With both of
us carrying around a picture of this woman, we’ll be able to cover more
territory.”

“Amy, you’re doing enough by
taking care of my sister. I don’t even know what Michael is capable of,
anymore.”

A hell of a lot more than you
can imagine, Amy thought, as she recalled the foul language and assaults she
had experienced. She wondered how a trained agent like Todd had missed the
signs. Probably because he wanted to believe his sister couldn’t have chosen so
far beneath her. Better that he not dwell on the truth of Michael’s violence.

Dusk was settling as they
approached the block on which he was staying. A few early streetwalkers were
scattered about, talking and checking their scanty apparel.

“Colds must be a problem in
their profession,” Amy guessed.

“They encounter a hell of a lot
worse things than cold viruses.”

Amy felt chastised for her
flippant remark.

“I guess it’s difficult for some
people to find legitimate jobs.”

“Especially when you live for
your next fix. Let me out at the end of the block.”

“Which place do you stay in?”
Amy asked, craning her neck and forgetting about the direction in which she was
driving. The loud toot of a horn brought her head back to the front windshield.

“Please, I’d like to live to the
end of the block. Are you going to be able to get home safely?”

“Of course. I’ve been doing the
driving all day, and we’re both in one piece.”

“One of us has a bit of the
jitters.”

Amy let out a loud harrumph.

“What’s the name of the hotel
you’re staying in?”

“I’m not telling you. If you
need to contact me, call Morgan.”

She stopped at the end of the
block. There was no space to pull into, so Todd quickly unlocked and opened his
door.

“No good-bye kiss?” Amy leaned
across the passenger seat.

“Amy, here?”

“Why not? Makes it look like I
picked you up earlier in the day and you’re just coming off your shift.”

Todd slammed the door shut.

“Those aren’t the kind of
pick-ups made around here, but if you insist.”

While they were kissing the car
jolted.

“He ran into us,” Amy yelled.

“He nudged us to bring us back
to reality. I’m sure there’s no damage.”

“Well, I’m certainly going to...”
Amy said, reaching for her door handle.

“Don’t make a scene, Amy. Drive
away and don’t stop.”

“Park that thing and get a room,”
barked the driver behind Amy’s rental car. The car was an old American boat
from the sixties, with rust creeping up the sides.

She followed Todd’s directions,
but her gut burned to tell off the bully in the other car. As he passed her he
gave her the finger, but when he got a good look at her appearance he changed
tactics and started to blow her kisses. Amy took the first turn she came to and
lost him.

When she got home she saw the
red light blinking on the answering machine. She hoped it was Jennie and was
disappointed to hear the sullen voice of Trudy.

“What’s this? You go off on
vacation without filling me in on you’re plans? Give me a call as soon as you
get in.”

Amy erased the message. She wasn’t
up to fabricating stories right now, and she couldn’t trust Trudy to keep the
truth to herself. Better to call her friend back later, she thought.

While taking a fast shower, she
left the bathroom door open in case Jennie should telephone. Then she changed
into a sweatshirt and jeans and tucked the car keys and some cash in her
pocket. She wanted to move with alacrity when Jennie showed. And Jennie would
show; Amy forced herself to think positively.

At dinner time, a telemarketing
service called to offer a full week’s free local newspaper delivery. When she
told them she already received a different paper, they attempted to badger her,
questioning why she chose one newspaper over the other. Finally she settled the
receiver back on the cradle while the salesperson was still babbling. She didn’t
want Jennie to be turned away by a busy signal.

Amy had a rotten night’s sleep
on Todd’s old bed on the floor of the living room. There was only one telephone
in the apartment, and she didn’t want to risk not hearing it ring from her
bedroom. But there were no calls. She arose fully clothed, another precaution
against wasting time.

Todd’s night wasn’t any better.
Morgan never showed at the bar, and Walt the bartender was surly, mainly
because most of the old-timers were giving him flack about his sullen
personality. The young girl Todd had dumped in the cab returned, it seemed, to
flirt with everyone but him, while keeping Todd in view from the corner of her
eye. She eventually left alone and furious once she resigned herself to the
fact that he didn’t care with whom she played her coquettish games.

His hotel room was a hollow
prison through which he paced most of the daylight hours until he was able to
continue his vigil for Morgan.

In her apartment, Amy spent the
day criss-crossing the various angles and length of her living room,
occasionally changing course and visiting the bathroom or the messy bedroom. At
one point she considered cleaning, figuring it was a good way of passing time.
But while she was on her knees in the bedroom closet, the telephone rang. The
sound had been muffled by the clothes dangling about her head. When she finally
realized there was a call, the answering machine had already picked up.

“Amy, where are you? I must
speak to you about something very important.”

Trudy sounded annoyed, and Amy
could hear the loud crash of a receiver being slammed back into its cradle.

“Sorry, Trudy, but I can’t have
you keeping me on the phone for hours.” That’s what Trudy had done on many
occasions. Amy also sensed that it might have to do with work, and she refused
to be called back into the office before Jennie and the children had a chance
to reach her.

The day passed without any other
public contact, except for the pizza delivery boy, who brought her a medium pie
with extra cheese and a smattering of artichoke hearts. She fell asleep on the
couch, with the half-eaten pie on the table beside her.

Amy dreamt of being at Jennie’s
apartment. Michael was beating down the door, and Todd’s sister was hiding
behind her, the children clinging to their mother’s skirt. How could she deal
with his brute force? Certainly her lucky kick a few days before wouldn’t work
twice. He’d be a warier and more dangerous assailant. She jolted awake just as
Michael crashed in the door. But there still was the pounding inside her head.

“My God!” Amy jumped to her
feet, realizing that her own door was being pummeled. She reached out for the
telephone. The police would know how to deal with Michael, if they arrived soon
enough.

While punching in the numbers
she heard a baby cry. Amy dropped the receiver back on the cradle just as a
voice answered.

“Jennie!” Amy called.

“Thank God. Amy, please let us
in.”

In a flurry, Amy checked for the
car keys in her pocket, grabbed the blazer by the door and undid the locks.

“The car is in front of the
building. I’m taking you to the crisis center now.”

Amy tried to assist the young
mother by lifting one of the toddlers, who immediately started to cry,
frightened by the urgency and the stranger carrying her. At the front door of
the building Amy slowed down to check the street.

“Did he see you leave?”

“No. Oh, Amy, he’s got another
woman. He’s with her now.”

Was this the final straw that
drove Jennie from the animal with which she had lived? One would think Jennie
would be grateful to the unlucky woman, but Amy saw the pain in the young
mother’s eyes.

“You’re right to leave him.”

“Am I?” Jennie asked, looking
down at the squalling infant in her arms. “He was good to the kids. Believe it
or not, he actually spoiled them.” Her eyes stared into Amy’s, and a sad smile
crept into the corners of her lips.

“You wouldn’t have wanted them
to see the way he brutalized you, would you?”

Jennie shook her head. “He’s
dealing drugs.”

“I thought you said...”

“He never stopped. He and this
woman...”

Brakes screeched on the street.
Amy closed the front door to the building and pushed Jennie further back into
the entryway. There was a man yelling in the street, but she didn’t recognize
the voice. Carefully, she pulled aside the flimsy sheer curtain that hung on
the glass portion of the door. Two men were outside their cars, arguing about
the right of way.

“We can’t stay in the hall
talking, Jennie. How did you get here, anyway?”

“Flora gave us a ride.”

“Did she know why you were
coming here?”

Jennie nodded. “But she wouldn’t
tell Michael where I am. She’s the one who told me about the other woman. She
saw them together several times when she and Leo were out drinking. Even saw
the woman entering our apartment one time when the kids and I weren’t at home.”
Embarrassed, Jennie looked down at the pale brown carpeting on the floor. Her
cheeks were flushed.

The tired children had quieted
down, making only whimpering noises. The toddler in Amy’s arms had started to
cling to her rather than fighting the embrace. Amy’s throat ached as her nose
took a deep whiff of the talcum-covered milky body she held. How so precious a
gift could be bestowed on such a warped man was beyond her comprehension.

The drive to the crisis center
was silent. The children slept through most of the trip. Amy drove with extra
care, searching her rear view mirror on occasion, in case Michael had forced
Jennie’s whereabouts out of Flora. Considering Flora’s distaste for men, that
wasn’t likely, but Amy wasn’t taking any chances with her passengers’ safety.