When Graveyards Yawn by G. Wells Taylor (popular books to read txt) đ
- Author: G. Wells Taylor
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âHow the hell did I figure into it?â I grabbed another cigarette. âYou must have linked the two murders.â
âYouâve got to remember. Everybody in Authority is on a special team, and each team watches the next team. And the Businessmen are not a very powerful team, yet. Anyway, there was a ban on investigation of the Cotton murder that came down the chain so anything we wanted we had to get without drawing attention. The smaller groups, we can still get a shit-kicking. I put Billings onto you because you can work autonomously. You were unconnected and expendable. Anyway, if I got you working, I could begin to find out who had killed Cotton. The link was obvious.â
I smiled. âI beat the bushes; you shoot anything I scare into the air. Why not just tell me about Cotton? You knew he was dead, but you let me go after Billingsâ killer.â
âLetâs face it. I knew about Cotton, and from that it was easy to put the two murders together. I thought you were a down and outer, but with you out snooping around I knew youâd draw attention away from me. The fact that you actually cleaned up the Billings case surprised me.â Willieboy leveled his gaze at my wounds. âWho worked you over?â
âMy girlfriend. Listen, you havenât explained why you would let me solve the Billingsâ case, and then just sit back on my ass.â I was annoyed. It wasnât nice to find Iâd been somebodyâs tool.
âYou solved it but you didnât produce Adrian or Van Reydner. We needed them.â Willieboy gazed at me for a moment. âI hoped youâd find something that would lead you into the Cotton murder, but the fire and news gags from our leaders, the Primes, kind of fucked everything up. We all know that the Primes just take orders from the biggest groups anyway and so we knew the King didnât want anyone else finding what Cotton lostâso he pulled strings, right? You didnât know about the other murder because the story was suppressed. That made if hard for you to find Adrian or Van Reydner. You thought it was overâthen you disappeared.
âI didnât think Adrian would try to snuff youâmust be your personality. He pretty much gave away his hand with that. Whatever he heard, or picked up that night must be worth a lot. When you disappeared I figured he got you.â He smiled around a new cigarette. âNow, answer my questions. There is an avalanche getting ready to fall on your head. And a lot of nasty people are looking at you right now. Iâm pretty sure youâre investigating Cotton. I want to know who youâre working for and what youâve dug up. Itâs the only way I can keep you alive.â
I gazed into Willieboyâs eyes and tried to imagine any compassion residing behind them. I shook my head.
âThen youâre dead,â he leaned forward hissing. âYouâre dead.â
I could feel Elmo tense beside me.
âIâm dead, then,â I said with as much nonchalance as I could muster.
Willieboy made claws out of his hands, and then wedged them between his knees. His eyelids fluttered with mock compassion.
âIâm just a lowly bush beater. Any tigers and the clown gets it.â I tried to change the topic. âYou already said I was expendable.â I straightened. âThe fire at the Morocco makes more sense. If one of your teams didnât want the murders investigated, theyâd just torch it. Do you have any idea who ordered that?â
âNo.â Willieboy leaned back in his chair, apparently willing to wait for his report.
âHow long have you been following me?â
âA long time.â Willieboy was reluctant to let that cat out of the bag. He studied his nails. âShit, we lost you in the landfill. A couple of the boys Iâd sent to tail you to Simpsonâs, fucking lost you in the fog.â
âI talked to Cane.â
âOh, donât worry about fucking Cane! He wouldnât tell us anything. Heâs got his own deal going on the inside.â
âWhen did you pick me up again?â
âNot long after you got backâŠâ His eyes were earnest.
âYou made the callâŠput me onto Cotton.â
âWhen the time was right, yeah. I didnât think youâd give up like that.â
âI guess I wasnât doing my job,â I said this absently. I saw all the threads of intrigue winding themselves into a nooseâwould I put my head through it? âThe note for the warehouseâCottonâs laboratory. I assume you left that for me.â I watched Willieboy nod. âIf Cotton died at the MoroccoâŠwhy was his lab torched?â
âItâs the King,â said Willieboy. âOr his people. Someone was trying to provide convincing answers. Thereâs a lot of money at stake. Fewer questions the better.â
âYou lost me again last night.â My shoulder had begun to throb.
âOne of our boys must have been sleeping, or scarfing around with some whore. Shit, you live in a rough neighborhood. This morning we spotted your friend,â he gestured to Elmo, âand followed him to the church. We were outside for about half an hour.â
I tried to count the facts he didnât know. The only thing I knew for sure was he probably didnât know about the missing detective, Owen Grey, or Van Reydnerâs note for me to meet her at the Arizona. I realized the Handyman and his partner were members of the Twelve Stars Groupâso they must have a team working in Authority, but how big were they? I conjured up the picture of the odd charm Iâd seen on his wrist, and on the thin arm of Adrianâs secretary.
âWho killed Cotton?â I gave Willieboy my serious face.
âI donât know and he couldnât tell us. When we talked to Billings, he was no help because he was in Blacktime while Cotton was getting murdered. There was a lot of activity revolving around Billings so we couldnât give a real search for Cotton without attracting attention. We finally found what was left of him out back, but by then, all the groups were represented and we had to play by the rules or take the shadows.â
I stared at Willieboy hard, trying to detect any subterfuge. I had to admit the scar over his lip was an imposing characteristic. That married to his black eyes made him unreadable.
âSo, here we are.â
âHere we are. And youâre playing hero.â Willieboy let out a cloud of smoke. âI just wanted to get hold of you and look you in the eyes while you can still look back. Youâve pissed off Inspector Cane. Heâs a bad fucker who will kill you if he takes it into his mind to do it. I donât know what his beef is, but he has an âall pointsâ out on you. He says detain at all costs. Which means heâll question you when youâre dead if he has to. Heâs going ballistic, so he must have a pretty big gun to the back of his head. When we heard a call on the radio ordering five cars to the Mother of Christ Cathedral to apprehend a known felon we stepped in. Lucky we were there.â
âYou might take me for a sap, but I know you must have something to gain by this.â
âRegenerics.â Willieboyâs face drew into a serious set of lines. âAnd listen, Iâm the closest thing to justice there is in Greasetown. If you can trust anyone, itâs me. I just want business-as-usual. People start getting cut up, and itâs no fun anymore. I genuinely believe youâre unconnected. Christ, the way youâve bungled through all this attests to that. But since youâre unconnected youâre free to operate. Iâve still got to work with some of these boys so I donât want to push from my endâŠand as I said we stand to make loads of cash, if Cottonâs Regenerics is real and it works. We tossed his room at the Morocco and came up empty. Whatever he needed protection for was gone. Someone has it.â
âBy what you say, no one in Authority does.â I was still trying to read Willieboy.
âVan Reydnerâs the only person who was there that night who hasnât turned up dead. I figure the people that mangled Cotton were at the hotel to get the Regenerics secret, too. They must have been some pissed off when he didnât have it.â
âAnd then Adrian suffers a similar fate to Cottonâs. Look you want to help me, tell me who the Kingâs men are. Who does Cane belong to?â I didnât want to give anything away.
âWith the Kingâs men, you never know. Heâs got people in so deep that you never recognize them till theyâre pulling your liver out. Just avoid the King if you can.â Willieboyâs eyes wavered. âAnd Cane, heâs with Twelve Stars.â
âTwelve StarsâŠâ I echoed, then looked away. âYouâll be watching me, wonât you?â
âOh yeah. But Iâll be wearing a helmet. Thereâs a Hell of a lot of attention coming your way and I donât want to catch any shrapnel.â The scar across his cheeks blazed crimson. âSee it doesnât kill you.â
âCan I have my gun?â I held my hand out.
âYeah. Iâd sleep with the fucker if I were you.â He retrieved it from the pile made by his armor. âI wouldnât go home. And Iâd take that makeup off. Fuck, you stand out like a sore thumb.â
âThatâs funny, did you make that upâthat thing about the thumb?â I slipped the gun through my belt. âIâm not going home, but Iâll be damned if Iâll give you directions. Weâll see if your operatives can keep up with me for a change. I donât want to make it too easy for you.â
âYouâre an asshole!â Willieboy sneered.
âYes.â I gestured to Elmo and we left Willieboy in the office. His partner let us out and we drove down toward the dock. I watched for a tail. None. Of course, there had been no trace of them before.
âWhere to, Boss?â Elmo worked the wheel.
âI feel crazy today, Fatso. Letâs go buy ourselves a new car.â I settled into my seat. I knew a couple of things. I had momentarily entertained the notion that Cotton had information to give out. But, by the sound of it, Regenerics was fairly common knowledge in the scientific community. The only reason I could figure they cut Cotton to pieces was to keep him quiet after the fact. Regenerics was already out of the bag, so whatever Cottonâs secret was, it was related to but not the science. I sighed, and thought of Van Reydnerâs steamy eyes. I had to find her.
I stared blankly out the window at
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