Geek Mafia: Mile Zero by Rick Dakan (reading tree txt) 📖

shortly before the murder. He might have shaved his beard since then, especially if he knows we’re looking for him. Does anyone recognize him?” Paul had to fight hard not to look extra hard at Winston as he said this.

“Never seen him,” Eddie said. “And before you two go accusing me of anything else, that’s the goddamned truth. Never. Seen. This. Fuck.”

Paul didn’t remember accusing Eddie of anything to his face, but apparently he’d been found guilty by association because Eddie perceived him to be Winston’s ally. “Well, keep an eye out for him. He definitely wasn’t acting alone in all this.”

“What about the cops?” Eddie asked. “What do they think?”

“Not involved,” said Paul. “They don’t know about the murder, because we disposed of the body before anyone outside our circle could find out about it. Local law enforcement shouldn’t be an issue moving forward.”

“Well at least you did that right,” Eddie snipped.

“What do you mean ‘that right’?” Paul asked, his ire rising.

“I mean you’ve done a pretty crappy job finding this killer.”

“Oh, come on, that’s bullshit! I just fucking showed you a goddamned picture of the guy!”

“But where is he now, huh, tough guy?”

Paul dearly wanted to answer him, but he managed to hold his tongue, and Eddie jumped into the silence with more vitriol. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You got no answer for that, do you? You and your buddy there just finished telling us that the killer’s got to be working for someone in our little circle of friends here, so it’s not like there’s this endless list of suspects. So what’s taking you so long?”

“Methinks he doth protest too much,” said Winston with a wry smile.

“Methinks that’s bullshit,” Eddie retorted as he stood up. He took out a folded sheaf of papers from his back pocket and angrily shook them loose as he tossed them across the aisle at Paul and Winston. “If you’re done trying to stick your hand down my pants, maybe you can look somewhere else!”

Paul picked up the papers from the floor near his feet. Each one was a printout of six grainy color pictures taken from the high angle characteristic of a security camera. They showed the lobby of the Hyatt, and there were images of Paul dressed as the Verizon rep, talking with the assistant manager. There were other pics of Sandee walking up and down a hall in the hotel which Paul assumed was where Eddie was staying.

“Looks to me like Paul was being quite thorough and examining a valid suspect,” said Winston as he looked at the pics. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“I do have a problem with it, because I didn’t kill the damn chick, ok?” shouted Eddie at Winston. Then he turned his wrath on Paul again. “And what did you find, tough guy? Any connection between me and this killer?”

“Nothing I could find,” Paul admitted.

“But you still thought it was just peachy to start fucking with me and my friends and our business.”

Paul almost told Eddie that he and his “friend” Raff had some unfinished business of their own, but he literally bit his tongue. No need to tell Eddie something that Raff might’ve kept from him. Instead Paul said nothing.

But Eddie wasn’t done. “And what about my friends?” Eddie asked. “Did you find anything connecting them to the killer? Did you?”

“Not yet, no,” said Paul.

“Well then! Now that you’ve cleared us, maybe we can bring in some competent, experienced help into this mess. I’m sure they can clear this all up.”

“Paul said he hadn’t found anything yet,” Winston pointed out. “That doesn’t mean he’s cleared you.”

“And who’s cleared him?” Eddie asked. “It’s his town, right? Who better than him to go around and commit murders and get away with it? Who cleared him and his Crew, that’s what I want to know!”

“I did,” said Winston. “Paul’s a known quantity and had no knowledge of either the meeting or Raquel before the murder. He couldn’t have done it and wouldn’t have if he could.”

“And we’re supposed to just take your word for that, old man?” asked Eddie. “I don’t think so. And how do you know what he did and didn’t know? This is his town, right? His fucking town. If he’s really worth being in our inner circle here, then surely nothing this big happens in his town without him knowing about it, right? I mean, if this were my fucking town, there’s no way all these heavy hitters could come in here and set up without me knowing about it.”

The words struck Paul right in his stomach like a fist, confirming the doubts and worries he’d had ever since Isaiah told him about the shadow corporation plan. Eddie was right. If he and Chloe actually had a big-time Crew, they should have seen signs of Isaiah and Winston and Raquel and even Eddie in town long before two nights ago. But they didn’t. And they weren’t a big-time Crew. Which cast some serious doubt on their ability to play with the big boys here.

“Enough,” said Isaiah. “Let’s just all stop cutting each other’s throats for a few minutes here, and talk like intelligent men.” Everyone was watching Isaiah now, and Eddie chose that moment to sit back down in his seat. Paul did the same.

“Obviously we still can’t proceed further until we know who the killer is working for,” said Isaiah. “So we must renew our efforts to find him and bring him in.”

“And if we can’t find him?” asked Winston. “If we never know for certain which of us he was working for? What then?”

“I don’t want to engage in hypotheticals,” Isaiah said. “Let’s not get distracted by…”

“It’s an important question,” Winston interrupted. “If we can’t find the killer among us, then how can we move forward? There will be no foundation of trust. No real security.”

“I one hundred percent agree with that,” Eddie said. “One of you three fuckers killed that lady, and I’m not putting my neck on the line until I know who it is. Which is why I want to bring my other friends into the loop now, so they can help us find out who the rats are.”

“I’m not exposing my interests to unknown quantities,” Winston countered. “Not under these circumstances.”

“Unknown quantities?” Eddie mocked. “Ask your little buddy there how unknown they are to him.”

“We’ll compromise,” Isaiah commanded. “I’ll meet with you and your friend in private, Eddie. That will allow me to make my own judgment about them and what they might or might not have to offer. Then we’ll revisit your motion that they be admitted to the board.”

Eddie stopped and listened to Marco whisper something in his ear. Eddie replied in kind, and they went back and forth a couple times before he finally said, “Ok, that’ll work. Can we talk now?” he glanced over at Paul and Winston. “Just you and me?”

“Of course,” said Isaiah. “Now, if no one has anything else, I adjourn the meeting.” No one said anything, and Isaiah nodded, gesturing toward the church door with his left hand. Eddie leaped up from his seat and cornered Isaiah in private conversation. Paul got up and headed straight for the door as well, wanting out of there before anything else disastrous happened.

Outside, Winston caught up with him at the bottom of the church steps. “Paul,” he said. “How are you?”

Paul turned to face him steeling himself for the conversation he’d been dreading most. “I’m good,” he said. “Just tired is all.”

“What did you think of our friend Eddie’s performance in there?” Winston asked.

“He’s pretty mad.”

“A sure sign of guilt in my experience.”

“You think so?” Paul asked. “I guess…”

“You do think he’s behind the murder, don’t you? Him or this Raff person?”

“It makes the most sense,” said Paul. “But I don’t see how we’ll ever prove it unless we find the killer.”

“And how’s that coming? Any sign of him?” Winston asked.

“No, nothing,” Paul lied. What was Winston playing at? Had he heard them on the bug or not? Or was he just trying to fuck with Paul’s head?

“Well, I’m not sure what will become of Isaiah’s scheme if we can’t find out the truth. You wouldn’t trust your secrets with Eddie and Isaiah under these circumstances, would you?”

“No, of course not,” agreed Paul. Looking past Winston’s shoulder, he saw Marco coming out the front doors of the church, a cigarette in hand. “Do you have a smoke?” he asked Winston, knowing the old man only smoked dope.

“I’m afraid not,” Winston said, giving Paul a quizzical look. “I didn’t know…”

“I’m going to bum one off Marco,” Paul said. “Listen, let’s get together later, ok? You, me and Chloe. We’ll compare notes and hash out all this shit.”

“How is Chloe?” he asked as Paul tried to walk past him.

“Getting some sleep,” Paul said. “We’ve been running ourselves ragged on this thing. We’ll give you a call in a few hours, ok?”

Winston eyed him for a moment and then smiled. “An excellent plan,” he said, patting Paul’s shoulder and spinning on his heel to walk off into the sunshine.

Marco looked a little surprised as Paul walked up the steps to where he was smoking. He just nodded to Paul in acknowledgement.

“What’s up, man?” Paul asked. “Can I bum a smoke?”

“Sure,” said Marco, taking the pack from his shirt pocket and offering one to Paul. He took it and put it in his mouth, the first one he’d had since college when he’d occasionally have a smoke while at a bar. Marco produced a Zippo and lit it for him and Paul took a shallow drag and tried not to cough.

“Thanks,” said Paul, turning to his side so that he and Marco were now both looking down the church steps to the street. There was a long silence between them, but Paul wanted Marco to talk first, figuring that might be the only way he would say anything interesting. He was counting on Eddie taking full advantage of his private time with Isaiah to vent every single one of his frustrations.

After maybe a couple of minutes, Marco broke the silence. “Got pretty intense in there, huh?” he said to Paul.

“Sure did,” Paul agreed.

“He can get that way, you know. When he’s passionate about something? He starts seeing enemies everywhere.”

“Sometimes there are enemies everywhere,” Paul pointed out.

“But not always,” Marco replied. “I know you’re just doing what you’ve got to do, right? I’d be looking at us too. We’re from out of town, and I guess you’ve got some history with Raff or whatever, so that’s understandable.” Paul wondered if Raff had told Marco and Eddie about their history or if he had figured it out for himself. Or maybe he was just fishing. Not wanting to give anything away, Paul stayed silent and let Marco keep talking. “But we’re not the only ones you should be looking at. We didn’t do it, so you’re wasting your time. But you know, whatever you gotta do. It’s your town.”

“Well, your boss in there isn’t acting very innocent if you ask me,” Paul said, nodding his head toward the church door. “He seems pretty hot-headed. Pretty violent.”

“First of all, he’s not my boss, he’s my partner. But I get what you’re saying. And yeah, just so you know, he is pretty violent. That’s something else you should probably take into consideration. That can be a liability sometimes, but it’s how things are for now.”

Paul considered very carefully what kinds of messages Marco might be sending his way. Was he threatening him with Eddie’s violent side if he and Chloe didn’t