Jack Taggart Mysteries 8-Book Bundle. Don Easton
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my husband! You call this a marriage? We’re supposed to talk with each other!”
“I am! Telling you and defying orders!”
“So, why now?” she yelled. “Are you hoping to unload your bundle of guilt on me? Are you hoping I’ll say that you’re doing the right thing? What?”
“I’ll carry the guilt for this all my life. It’s my load to carry, but what I do now could affect our future. Not just mine. Yours, mine, and Tiffany’s.”
“And Jack’s.”
“And Jack’s.”
“So why now? What’s going on that you decided to tell me?”
“Jack and I have a new informant. We just found out who killed Crystal. It might not be long before we find out who killed Jack’s niece and nephew.”
Susan’s face brightened. “Well, that’s good!” She paused and added, “Isn’t it? This Wigmore fellow will be pleased with that!”
“I don’t think so. Jack’s not supposed to be involved with the investigation. Besides, as far as Crystal goes, we could never prove it legally.”
“So what will you do?”
Danny shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do. It’s just … I’m worried about what Jack might do. Especially if we find out who killed his niece and nephew.”
“What do you mean? You think he’ll…” Susan stared at Danny, waiting for an answer.
Danny didn’t reply.
“You better not do anything you shouldn’t!”
“That’s why I’m talking to you! I want to do what’s right, I just don’t know what that is.”
The concern in Susan’s voice was evident. “Danny, what has happened to you? This isn’t like you. We used to talk, remember? You’ve really changed since we moved here. I look into your eyes and you’re not the same person.”
Danny took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “You’re right about that. When I shave in the morning … I don’t see my own eyes looking back at me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I see Crystal’s eyes. I see them all the time. Now I’m being haunted by your eyes and Jack’s eyes as well.”
Susan sat quietly. Moments later, Danny caught the frightened look on her face as she stood up. “I’m going upstairs to vacuum. You do what you think is right.”
Her voice sounded tired and empty. Danny sighed. What is right?
Susan started to walk away, then stopped and asked, “Will you ever be haunted by Wigmore’s eyes?”
“No, not that asshole. Why?”
“You’re the policeman, you figure it out.”
Danny stared after Susan when she left. He realized he loved her very much.
Jack stood in the doorway, shivering in the darkness as a moist, cool breeze blew up from the ocean. His fingers worked the pick and he felt the lock start to turn as the tumblers slid into position. The building had been painted green, but most of the paint had peeled, exposing the wooden structure to the elements.
Above his head, a sign hanging from a wrought-iron pole squeaked as it waved slightly back and forth. The word POPEYE’S was hand-painted in red ink on the sign, over a faded emblem of a ship’s anchor.
Danny stood behind him, staring out at the empty street before risking a glance back at Jack. “Do you want me to hold a flashlight for you?”
“No, it’s okay,” whispered Jack. “I go more by feel than I do by sight.”
“You’re sure it’s not alarmed?”
“Not from what I could tell this morning. I wouldn’t think there’d be much for someone to steal, but we’re about to find out.”
Jack opened the door and they stepped inside.
The front office was small, and Jack quickly searched for business records but didn’t find any. He made his way to a room at the rear, which was only slightly larger. The beam from his flashlight revealed another open door leading into a washroom. He fanned the beam around the room. There wasn’t much to see. A table, couple of chairs, a barstool, a cot, and a shelf with tattooing supplies.
He pulled out a book from under the cot, along with two other dust-covered books he found further back. They contained pictures and sketches of various types of tattoos. The Dirty Dog tattoo was not among them, nor was it on any of the walls.
He shone his light across the calendars on the wall. “Danny! I found it.”
Danny came up beside him, and Jack turned and smiled with satisfaction. “Take a look,” he whispered. “These are his appointment books!”
Danny shone his light on the block numbers below the pictures. Names and times were lightly penciled in on a couple of the dates.
“Look!” said Jack excitedly, pointing to one entry. “Look at the date here, it’s got 1 p.m. and the names Sheila, Rose.”
“Two women getting tattoos!”
“Or someone by the name of Sheila was getting a tattoo of a rose,” whispered Jack. He flipped through the calendar to August. He could feel the tension grip his heart and lungs. His eyes met Danny’s and he slowly shook his head. He turned the page to September.
“It’s here!” shouted Jack, jabbing at an entry with his finger. “Only two weeks after Maggie and Ben Junior were murdered! Take a look!”
Danny looked down at the notation on the calendar. The words Rolly-DD were printed above a brief narrative in brackets, conf Wiz.
“This is it!” Jack said. “Dirty Dog, confirmed by Wizard!” He grabbed Danny by the shoulder. “Remember? Our friend said a hit had to be verified and sanctioned!”
The intensity of Jack’s voice made Danny feel uneasy. He cleared his throat. “The timing seems right, but with the number of murders these guys do, we can’t be positive.”
Jack’s voice was laced with anger. “It’s them, all right. Explains why Rolly isn’t bragging about it. Not much respect for killing children. I bet Wizard was with him.”
“So what do you plan to do? We can’t use any of this as evidence. We’ve got no grounds to get a search warrant.”
“It’s evidence for me!” Jack paused for a moment, then said, “But you’re right, we can’t be positive. We’ll keep digging until we are.”
“Then what?”
Jack let the pages fall back to their original position and walked out the door.
Once inside the car, Jack looked intensely into Danny’s eyes and said, “I know it’s Wizard and Rolly. The timing is right. Rolly got his tattoo … it all falls into place. Our friend said a murder had to be confirmed and sanctioned. Maggie was shot through the door. Until then, they wouldn’t have known that Maggie and Ben Junior were there. Rolly would have never risked phoning anyone to sanction the hit. Wizard had to have been with him.”
“Or someone else who was executive. That’s if it was Rolly who did it.”
“Wizard arranged the original shipment and Rolly handled the delivery. The two of them killed Lenny and tried to kill me. I know it’s them. We’ll do their places tomorrow night.”
Jack hadn’t raised his voice, but there was no mistaking the cold look in his eyes and the venom in his voice.
Danny wondered if Jack would wait until tomorrow night to look for more evidence.