Another Senseless Killing (24) I was thinking how glad I was that there was only the two of us when two cops came in and stood motionless on either side of the door. "She was truly the greatest piece of ass I ever had!" I had no control over the words leaving my mouth. It was a bizarre feeling. "I will tell you one thing, Nick. I had no idea she was so fucking heavy into drugs. I knew she did a little coke now and then, but not to the extent of having to get her nose lined with Teflon." The two cops continued to stand motionless --- almost at attention. "And I don't care what you say, Nick. There are a ton of people out there who are left handed and drive mini vans." I’d called his bluff and I’d won. I knew I had him, but I sure as hell didn't feel good about it. I had no intentions of celebrating. "You know damn well you have not one shred of concrete evidence. Your story is conjectural, your evidence is circumstantial and your case is nonexistent. No prints. No witnesses. No motive. No case!" Now I was shaking as much as Nick. "My van is clean and there is no way you can place me at any murder scene." I threw the butt of my cigarette into the waste basket. "You can't prove a fucking thing!" Nick's head hung forward. My eyes filled with tears. I wanted to hug my long time friend and tell him I loved him. But I didn’t. Instead I headed for the door. "I deny nothing and I admit nothing!" I glanced at the clock above the door. It was nine-thirty-five. I had just spent the longest hour of my life. "I would like to leave." The two cops looked at Nick. He nodded and they moved aside. I opened the door and turned back again. "I am impressed. You really did your homework." I then removed the smirk and said softly and sincerely, "Nick, you are one helluva cop!" * XXXVII Margo was waiting in the hall across from the library when I left Foley. Even with make-up she looked pallid. She was modestly dressed in a simple white blouse and plain black slacks. In spite of it all, she was still appealing. I hugged her, but she was unreceptive. When we got to the sidewalk, I took her hand. It was like reaching into the freezer. "My van is parked around the corner. We'll go to my house so I can pack. Bea is probably asleep and Arthur hasn't been home in two days, so we won't be disturbed." I continued to hold her hand as we turned away from the building. We paused for a moment and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. There was only one obstacle in my path. After I cleared it, I would be free. The streets were unusually quiet and the sidewalks were empty. The stars peeked through the darkness only occasionally and there was no moon at all. "Then we'll swing by your apartment and you can get your things --- okay?" I could see Margo was reluctant to go with me. I was suddenly in the company of a total stranger. "You said you'd go with me." "I --- I know I did, but --- " "You don't seem very excited." Her hand was moist. She looked at me for the first time. Her eyes were dull. Then she sighed almost resignedly. "We'll take the T-Bird. I want to drive it one last time before it's sold. Call it sentiment." "I think we should take my Silverado. Kate's car is too small." I said it too quickly. "How did you know it was Kate's car?" Margo let go of my hand. "Today is the first day it's been out of the shop in two months. No one has seen this car until now." I was caught off guard. "You told me once that your sister drove a T-Bird." "I did?" She looked unconvinced. "Yes." I lied. Margo, puzzled, paused for a moment and looked around her dubiously. Then after a long hesitation, she finally got behind the wheel. I got in beside her and we drove off into the night. We drove in silence for several miles before I lit up a Camel. My hand was shaking. This wasn't going to be easy. "Turn left on Route Thirty-nine." I said. "Why? Aren't we going to --- ?" "Just do it, okay?" "Manny, I hate that road." I didn't respond. I didn't care. I took a long drag and exhaled slowly. The windows were down and the brisk night air was refreshing. All I could think of was my impending, new found freedom. "Manny, is this awful road really necessary?" "Yes. I have to clear my mind. Keep driving." We drove another mile in silence. I glanced in the rearview mirror. I got a strange vibe that we were being followed. Then the headlights disappeared. Maybe I'd imagined it. It didn't matter. The time had come. "Pull over --- " I pointed to a large clearing. " --- there." Now I could smell Giorgio. This was going to be tougher than I thought. "Where are we going, Manny? I thought --- " "I said, pull over!" I took out a thirty-eight and aimed it at her. She screamed. "Don't argue with me. Just do it!" I remembered pointing a pistol at her the first time we'd met. Only then I wouldn't have used it. "This is my other thirty-eight." I said menacingly. "But you already know that --- don't you!" Margo shakily pulled off the road and stopped where I had told her. The small secluded area had a lot of weeds and a few bare, scraggly trees. What little grass there was, was dead. It was mostly dirt and gravel. "We've been driving almost forty minutes and I'm still waiting for you to ask me about my meeting with Nick Foley." I expected a response but she chose to remain mute. So I continued. "But that really isn't necessary, is it? Because you had your little ear to the door --- right?" I pushed the gun against her nose. "Or maybe Nick has already filled you in on everything." She started to speak but I cut her off. "The point is you know!" I pushed the weapon against her harder. "You know everything. That's why you wouldn't ride with me in the Silverado. How could you possible sit with me in a van that once carried your sister's mutilated body?" I could hear her choked sobs and even in the dark I could tell she was trembling. Then I glanced in the rearview mirror. I could see the headlights again. "But you were going to go away with me anyway. Why?" I put my hand up before she could speak. "Actually, it's not important. At least --- not now." The headlights were getting closer. I tossed my cigarette out the window and quickly lit another one with my free hand. I took a long drag and exhaled slowly. We both sat quietly in the darkness for one or two minutes. The smell of Giorgio was slowly fading. "When you first walked into my office, I swear to God I thought I was looking at a ghost. It was as if Kate Blair had risen from her grave. She had come back from the dead!" I knew I was talking because I could feel my lips move. But the words seemed to emanate from another galaxy. "And then I felt this immediate grand and powerful attraction. It was the same sensation as when I'd first seen Kate at that writer's conference in Kentucky some two years ago." I took another long drag. "Of course it wasn't you I was attracted to. It was Kate --- all over again." "Of course." Margo's words were barely discernible. "Or to be more exact," I expounded, "it was your resemblance to Kate that consumed me: the same color eyes, the same color hair, the same wonderful body. The similarity was overwhelming." There followed a long silence punctuated only by an occasional car speeding by. "I should never have taken the case. That was a serious mistake!" As I spoke, I kept my eyes and my weapon both rigidly pointed at her. "I mean --- I kill someone and then their sister comes to me for help in finding her. What are the odds of that occurring?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Astronomical, I would say!" My heart began to race so fast I was afraid it would leave my body. And it pounded so loudly, I could hear it. I was soaked with sweat and I could hardly breathe. "But I couldn't help it. I had to take the case. At that point I was sucked in like an elephant in quicksand!" There was another extended silence. Another car sped by. "Then as time went on and I got to know you, I thought if I could beat this thing maybe you and might have a chance after all --- maybe." I watched as most of my ash fell to the floor. "I tried my damnedest to develop some feelings for you. But it was an exercise in futility. I don't know what the hell I was thinking." I took one final drag and threw the butt out the window. "Oh --- it might have worked if Kate hadn't come into my life first. But that's a moot point, isn't it? Because she did!" Again I waited for a response and again I got none. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters!" I gripped the thirty-eight harder and got my face closer to hers. "Damn them! Damn all of them!" I fought back the tears as I spoke. "They all had to get in my way, didn't they? Curt Warner with his fucking greed! Martha Bowden with her fucking stupidity! If only they would have kept their fucking mouths shut!" I took a deep breath and softened my tone. "And now --- you." The headlights appeared to be less than one quarter mile away and closing in. "Why, Manny? Why?" She was crying hysterically. "Why did you have to kill her?" "Because she was a fucking whore!" I yelled in her ear. "I loved her. But you can't love a whore. Whores don't love you back!" Tears were pouring down my face. "I couldn't have Kate. No one could have her." Then I added mockingly, "And don't give me that 'I love my sister' crap! You knew what she was." "Kate was sick." Margo said unexpectedly. "I know. But it made no difference. Don't you see?" I knew my face was beet red. I felt like I was sitting under a heat lamp. "I still had to kill her." I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. "And now I have to kill you too." Margo suddenly reached for the door handle. I grabbed her by the neck with my right hand. The grip was weak but effective. She screamed. I pressed the barrel of the gun against her cheek. "Manny --- please --- " "I truly regret that it didn't work for us. But for what it's worth, next to Kate, I will always think of you as the most alluring woman I've ever met." "Manny --- " She was still crying and still trembling. "I'm sorry, Margo. This is very painful for me as I'm sure it is for you.” One second I wanted to blow her fucking brains out, and the next I wanted to hold her close and tell her how sorry I was. “But you must understand that --- " "Don't do it, Manny." The familiar voice soared through the open window. "It's over. Put the piece down --- slowly." I could feel something hard against the back of my head. I knew it was Nick's gun. I was suddenly frozen to my seat. "Manny, I'm begging you. Let's not have another senseless killing." Nick continued evenly --- always in control. "She's wired, Manny. It's all on tape. Now drop the gun!" I swallowed hard. A large hairball was suddenly lodged in my throat. Wired! On tape! Nick was right --- as usual. Kate was the one I wanted. Margo was only a replacement. Margo came in second. It would be another senseless killing. And for what? I could feel my grip on the thirty-eight weaken. I dropped it harmlessly on the seat. Then I let go of Margo's neck. She jumped away and ran out of the car. Nick and another cop quickly cuffed me. I got dizzy and everything around me began to swim. It all happened so fast I couldn't orient myself. I could hear Nick's soft voice. It sounded miles away. "Like I said, Manny. It's over." * Epilogue "Thanks for letting us wire you." Nick said. "I know it was risky." Nick was standing with Margo outside the police station in front of Kate Blair's T-Bird. It had been two days since Manny's arrest and both Nick and Margo were visibly drained. This was the first time they'd had a chance to talk. "I have to admit there were several times I came close to chickening out." "Thank Heaven you didn't." Then he added quickly. "And I'm sorry it took so long getting to you, but we had to make certain it was all on tape." "I understand." Margo took out a tissue and wiped her eyes. "So what will happen to Manny.?" Nick thought a moment. "He'll be convicted on three counts of murder and probably end up on death row. Then his attorney will file an appeal and everything will be put in limbo for --- God knows how long." Two motorcycles whizzed by. "What are you going to do?" Nick asked. "Well --- no immediate plans. I suppose I'll go back home and try to put my life back in order." "What about your job?" "I have contacts there." She put her tissue away. "I'll be all right." Nick took out a fresh cigar and studied it. "I guess I owe you an apology." "Oh --- I hold no grudges. I know you were just doing your job." Nick nodded slowly. "How did Manny's sister and brother-in-law take the news?" Margo asked. "His sister, Bea, is a basket case. His brother-in-law is a --- a putz!" "A what?" "A --- never mind." A silence seemed to go on for eons. Margo broke the spell. "It seems I was wrong about Herb Rowland and John Carver." "Well --- " Nick squinted as he unwrapped his cigar. " --- not entirely. They really are both worthless pieces of shit!" Margo opened the car door, then turned slowly towards Nick. "You'll miss him, won't you?" "I miss him already." Foley made no attempt to hide his grief as he wiped away the tears. Margo got behind the wheel and the engine suddenly came to life. "Maybe one day we'll meet again, Nick --- " She smiled. " --- under more pleasant conditions." Nick returned the smile. "If we do and it's in Cleveland, you're invited for dinner." Margo's smile widened. "Well, thank you." Nick finally put the cigar in the corner of his mouth. "My wife makes one helluva brisket." "I'm sure she does." Margo reached through the open window and she and Nick shook hands. "Goodbye, Nick." "Goodbye, Margo." FINIS
Go to part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Copyright © 1998 B J Bloch |