Читать книгу Long Fall from Heaven - George Wier - Страница 19

[ 10 ]

The DPS lab completed the autopsy and sent Jack Pense’s body back to Galveston shortly after noon. C.C. Boland had Jennifer Day clutching his arm when he walked into the Welch and Sons Funeral Home to make the arrangements.

Billy Welch, the owner of half a dozen funeral chapels strung along the Texas Gulf Coast, was there to greet them. Billy’s sleeves were rolled up and he was ready to help. Billy and C.C. had known each other since the two of them were kids in grade school.

Jenny picked out a five-thousand dollar casket, the flowers and the headstone. Billy tried to shave the price downward, knowing it was one of Cueball’s employees, but Cueball glanced at the figures and shook his head.

“What the hell you think you’re trying to do, Billy?”

“What do you mean?” Welch asked.

C.C. sighed and fished out his checkbook. “You’re undercharging me, and you’re doing it on purpose.” Then he wrote a check for a little over seven thousand dollars and never batted an eye. He placed the check in Billy’s hand and Welch sighed deeply.

“Thank you, C.C.,” he said. And meant it.

After the arrangements were made, Billy requested a two-hour window to prep the body for a brief viewing. It would be a closed casket ceremony—this Cueball had known, having already seen the grisly remains at the warehouse—but Jack’s common-law wife hadn’t seen him yet.

During the wait, Cueball took Jenny to a cafeteria a block down from the funeral home and made it a point to get her a cup of coffee and spike it with Irish rum. Business was slow. The two were seated alone in a section away from the listless cafeteria workers. Every time Jenny got her spiked cup of java drank halfway down, C.C. reached across and poured in another dollop of rum from his flask. At her first protestation, Cueball said, “This will stiffen your spine a little. And you’ll need it when you go in and see Jacky.” And so she drank and drank some more. Just about the time Cueball estimated she was feeling no pain, his pager beeped.

Cueball read the number, got up and used the pay phone in the lobby. Micah answered on the first ring.

“Did you know a Texas Ranger by the name of Foley?” Micah sounded perpetually tired.

“Of course I knew him. In fact, I was at his funeral, along with the most of the rangers in the state.”

“Okay. Good.”

“What’s Foley got to do with this?” Cueball asked.

“Uh. Let’s just say I have my sources. Maybe we should be looking for a little more than just Harrison Lynch.”

“Yeah? Who’s your source?”

“It’s—”

“Huh! I already know. It’s Homer Underwood, isn’t it? Why do you listen to that old grifter?”

“He’s no grifter, Cueball. At least not anymore. He’s just an old man who knows things.”

“Alright. Fine. And Homer knew Lynch was involved?”

“He mentioned the name before I did,” Micah replied.

“What else did he say? And how did Foley figure into his thinking?”

“Homer said he suspected that Jack’s death tied into a bunch of killings that happened here back during the war. Foley worked the case. In fact, according to Homer, Foley was sent down here to put a stop to the murders by whatever means necessary.”

“Which war?” Cueball asked.

“The war. World War II.”

Micah Lanscomb heard a very long roar of nothing over the line and waited. Finally Cueball spoke. “Alright. Have you slept yet?”

“No. I’m not tired.”

“That’s because you burned that fuse out a long time ago. All right, these are orders: Go home and get some sleep. Drop by the house tonight, though, and I’ll tell you about Harrison Lynch.”

“Okay, but what about Foley? And the other fellow Homer named? Denny Muldoon?”

“Muldoon? Don’t know him. What about them?” Cueball asked.

Micah laughed. “I suppose we’ll talk about it tonight.”

“Get some sleep. You sound like the walking dead.”

Cueball heard the phone click dead and snorted. “Well, hell,” he said to himself.

When Cueball returned to the table he found Jennifer snoring softly. He woke her and they went back to the funeral home and completed the arrangements. The funeral was to be two days hence.