“I don’t know. I just don’t….” Rolly wiped his face with his hands and then wiped his bloody fingers on his pants.

Wizard spun around to face Lance. “So how come they haven’t arrested us yet?”

Before Lance could reply, Wizard continued. “I’ll tell you why! They don’t have enough evidence on anything, or else all three of us would be sittin’ in the slam. It was pretty dark the night we tried to do ’im in the alley. You’re probably the only one the pig can really identify. That fuckin’ scar of yours. Plus the interior light of the car came on when you got out. I bet he’s only guessing about Rolly and me.”

Lance shrugged and said, “I don’t know, but it sounds like they’re thinkin’ of doin’ somethin’ real quick.”

“So who are these two pigs? When did they say they’d get hold of you next?”

“They didn’t say, but the crazy one said he’d be in touch soon, and if I didn’t cooperate he’d either kill me or put me in jail.”

“Are these pigs the narcs from hell, or what?”

“No. They belong to some Intelligence thing, but I don’t know what it’s called.”

“What’s their names?”

“I only know the name of the crazy guy. The guy we thought was Eddy. His real name is Jack Taggart. Don’t know the other guy, but he does what Taggart tells him.”

“See if they’ll give ya their home numbers. Get licence plate numbers, anything to help us find out where they live.”

“I’ll work on it.”

“Yeah, do that. And hurry before they decide to scoop us!”

“Who’s this fuckin’ bozo who told you he was a rat in the first place? It seems to me he’s the one who set us up,” said Lance heatedly.

Wizard reflected for a moment, then said, “I don’t think so. He’s always been right on in the past. Besides, he’d have too much to lose, what with me lining him up with little girls. Not to mention free powder. Naw, our problem lies with these two fuckin’ pigs. I’ll get you to call them … tell ’em you got to meet them. If we whack them, our problems will be over. Especially this Eddy … or Jack, or whatever the fuck his name is.”

“Yeah, but they’re cops!” said Rolly.

“Fuck, what’s the difference? They’re just a couple of guys, same as everyone else.”

“Where and when?” asked Lance.

Wizard slowly looked around. “Why not right here? It would be nice if they’re both together. But if not, just make sure we get the pig from the back alley. He’s the only fucker who could point a finger at us!”

“Yeah, I agree with ya there,” replied Lance.

“One more thing,” said Wizard. “Who else have you told about this?”

“Nobody else knows.”

“Keep it that way. Keep your mouth shut about everything! That means the bros, too. No need for anyone to know about the kids — or the pigs — for now.”

“Fuck, I’m not stupid,” said Lance, looking at Rolly.

“Hey! Wait a minute —”

“Shut up, Rolly!” yelled Wizard, before looking back at Lance. “No, I know you’re not stupid. In fact, before today, I was gonna ask ya if you were interested in somethin’.”

“Interested in what?”

“If I make national pres, what say I back you to replace me as president?”

“You would do that?” Lance noticed the scowl that Rolly gave Wizard.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. We just gotta take care of a few loose ends first.”

“Let me shoot Taggart. He was gonna kill me, so let me return the favour! I wanna pop one in each eyeball. You owe me that!”

Wizard chuckled, then said, “Anxious to get your DD, are you? Yeah, no problem. You can kill ’em both if you want.”

“The fuckin’ heat’s gonna come down real bad,” said Rolly.

“I can handle the heat,” said Wizard. “Nobody should be runnin’ this club who can’t!”

Jack glanced impatiently at his watch. What was keeping Lance? The harsh cry of a seagull over the ocean caused him to look up, but too many trees blocked his view.

Danny sat on the park bench beside him, with his head back and his eyes closed. It looked like he was sleeping. Jack knew better. Stress had reduced both men to silence.

Two children zoomed by on skateboards, but Jack only caught a partial glimpse of them through the trees and shrubbery.

A rustling sound in the bushes behind him told him a squirrel was probably storing food for the winter. It would be peaceful here, he thought, if it weren’t for what they were doing. More comfortable than waiting in a cemetery and thinking about the dead.

Lance walked through the trees toward them. Jack nudged Danny, who sat forward in anticipation.

Lance stood an arm’s length away, staring down at them. For a moment, nobody spoke. The glow of a street light illuminated beads of sweat on Lance’s forehead.

“Well?” asked Jack.

“I’ve got something for ya!” replied Lance, reaching inside his black leather jacket and pulling out a tape recorder. He handed it to Jack and said, “You were right! Wizard wasted the little girl and Rolly did the boy. It’s all here for ya to listen to.”

Jack took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He gripped the recorder tightly to try to stop his hands from trembling.

chapter twenty-eight

Jack unlocked his car and Danny got in beside him while Lance sat in the back. He rewound the tape and pushed “play.” When it reached the place where Wizard admitted that he shot Maggie, he subconsciously ran his fingers across the grip of his pistol. This is it. Time for justice.

He stopped the recorder and looked at Danny. “You wanted proof. Well, we just got it!”

Danny silently nodded.

Jack started the recorder again. Seconds later, he knew he wasn’t done. The Suit! The goddamned Suit ordered them killed! “No! Jesus Christ!” he yelled, slamming his fist into the dash. His eyes brimmed with tears and he bit his lip. He looked in the rear-view mirror and briefly locked eyes with Lance before looking away.

Minutes later, the voices on the tape ended. Danny reached over and shut it off.

Jack sat in silence for a moment to regain his composure, then turned in his seat and spoke to Lance. “You did good. In fact, better than I expected.”

“I’ve never been so fuckin’ scared in all my life. Do you have any idea what they’d have done if they decided to search me and found the recorder?”

Jack nodded.

“So what are ya gonna do with the tape? Use it as evidence?”

“That’s not going to happen. I told you I would protect you and I will.”

“You call today protecting me? Man, this is gonna be a long ten years!”

“It worked out good. I told you that Rolly would get the heat.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. Wiz smacked him a few good ones. The dumb bastard looks uglier than ever now!”

“I wish I had seen it,” said Jack, “but I didn’t want to take the chance of them spotting any surveillance.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Lance. “These guys are gonna ace ya, and I don’t want any of your buddies thinkin’ I had a part in it.”

“We can stall for the time being,” said Jack. “Tell them we called you and said we’re going out of town for a while. Keep them on the hook. We have to find out who The Suit is!”

“Then what?” asked Lance.

Danny looked at Jack for a reply. Their eyes met briefly, then Jack turned back to Lance. “That’s none of your concern. We’ll look after you. Just make certain you look after us!”

“I hear ya.”

Jack looked at Danny and said, “There’s something personal I need to talk to him about. Wait here.” He took off his gun, put it on the seat beside Danny, and got out of the car.

Moments later, Jack and Lance strolled into a heavily wooded area in the park.

“You got a problem with me from this morning?” asked Jack. “We can deal with it now.”