Читать книгу Art and Murder - Don Easton - Страница 8

“Who’s Jackie?” Natasha asked as soon as Jack hung up.

“Me.” Jack pushed the speed dial to call Laura.

“Then who was I supposed to be?”

“A hooker.”

“Kick me like that again,” Natasha said, “and I might start charging you. Can I go back to sleep now?”

Jack nodded and turned his attention to the phone when Laura answered. His instructions were brief and terse.

“Got it,” said Laura. “You’ll be here in what … twenty-five minutes?”

“Fifteen,” Jack replied and hung up. As he reached for his clothes, his brain nagged him about what Brandy had gotten herself into. Or more like what I got her into.

He shoved his Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol into his belt at the back of his pants, then hesitated before going to the closet to retrieve an issue twelve-gauge Bushmaster shotgun with a metal folding stock and pistol grip. It could be held under his jacket without being seen.

He heard Natasha suck in a mouthful of air. “Trouble?” she asked.

“Not for me. The guys I’m about to meet won’t be happy.”

Natasha exhaled and nodded knowingly. “Remember I love you. Same goes for Mike and Steve.”

* * *

Laura was waiting at the curb and climbed in when Jack pulled up in a black SUV. “I’ll put my makeup on as you drive,” she said, “but how do I look?”

Jack glanced at her quickly.

“You said to look like a high-class hooker,” Laura continued, “if there is such a thing.”

“You look perfect. More than I could afford.”

Laura smiled. “You got that right.”

Jack’s moment of humour didn’t last. His face darkened and he stepped on the gas, causing the tires to squeal when he pulled away from the curb.

“Watch it, will ya?” Laura said. “I have to live in this neighbourhood.”

“You didn’t hear her voice,” Jack said. “She’s really scared.”

“Three of them, you say? But no guns?”

“No guns that she saw. Clive and Klaus are there for sure. Some other guy, too, but I didn’t get a name.”

“Fill me in a bit. If we burst in there, aren’t you worried about burning her?”

“No. That’s why you’re a hooker tonight.”

“I thought that was just to get them to open the door. What happens then?” She glanced at Jack and realized what he was going to do. “Oh, man,” she muttered. “You’re going to pretend to be her pimp.”

“You got a better idea?”

“No, but a real pimp would probably mess them up.”

“Probably,” Jack agreed.

“We’re cops, remember?”

“I remember.” Jack glanced at her. “Don’t worry. I brought the shotgun. If I stick that in their faces it’ll scare them enough.”

“So we go in. You wave the gun to scare them, then we collect Brandy and leave. Right?”

“You got it. It’ll be a cakewalk.”

I’ve heard that one before, Laura thought.

Jack drove in silence for a few minutes and tried to imagine what was going on in the hotel. “Damn it, whatever they’re doing to her is my fault,” he said bitterly as he swung into an oncoming lane to pass a car. “She told me Clive was becoming nastier and said she didn’t want to go with him anymore. It was because of me that —”

“This isn’t her first time with him,” Laura said, no doubt hoping to ease his guilt.

“And what’s this business with three guys?” Jack muttered. “I didn’t think she was into that type of action.” He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Bet she’s doing it because of me.”

“Maybe it’s a money issue,” Laura suggested. “I hope she isn’t calling us over that. Can’t say as I want to be charged with pimping.”

“I’m sure that’s not it. She was so scared she was starting to hyperventilate.”

Jack thought about the reason he’d pushed Brandy into the situation. Is Clive worth it? He went over what he knew. Another informant had told him that Brandy had bragged to her about receiving ounces of cocaine from Clive in lieu of payment for sexual favours. Brandy had said that Clive was a big player who provided his smugglers with fake passports. It was the passports that caught Jack’s attention. If a drug dealer had access to those, perhaps some terrorist could also get access to them. He later identified a known cocaine importer by the name of Clive Dempsey, and when Brandy became his informant, she confirmed that it was the Clive she knew.

Jack ignored a red light and the angry blast of a horn as he stepped on the gas. A moment later he pulled into the hotel parking lot. Forty minutes had passed since Brandy called him. He glanced up at the top floor of the hotel, wondering what awaited them, then gave a nod to Laura and they both thought the same thing.

It’s showtime.