Part 10 (1/2)
I took the piece of paper and pushed the food away as my appet.i.te left. Billy was always well informed but this was fast, even for him. ”How did you hear about that?”
”Weren't you listening earlier when I said I had a visitor?” Billy tried to smile but failed. ”One of the Gatekeeper's men stopped by to see me this morning and dropped this off.” He tossed a thumb drive on the table.
”What's on it?” I was fairly sure it was the same thing that was on the drive Katharine had dropped on my desk earlier.
”Some very interesting footage of you being tossed around like a rag doll.” Billy's face sank as he seemed to age even further as I watched.
”Are you alright?” I asked.
He wiped his round face with one of his meaty hands as he looked at me. ”Yeah, I'll be fine.” Sighing as he leaned back. ”He's trying to discredit you with this, y'know.”
The weight placed on those around me was a heavy burden for them to bare, and it concerned me that Leonard had gone this far. ”Leonard can kiss my a.s.s!” Pus.h.i.+ng the thumb drive back at Billy. ”It isn't the first time I've gotten my a.s.s kicked.”
”True enough.” Billy laughed. ”It is the first time we have video of it though.”
Looking up at Billy I smiled. ”Did it look good at least?”
”What your a.s.s?” Billy laughed one of those full body shaking laughs. ”I don't know I was too busy watching you bounce across the street.”
”d.a.m.n that must be a popular scene.” I grumbled. ”Everyone seems to reference it. I will have to get a copy for myself.” I quipped ”Yeah well, I told my visitor to kindly get the h.e.l.l out of my house this morning just before I packed my things.” Billy shrugged helplessly. ”So that's why I was asking about the apartment. I just don't feel safe where I'm living now.”
”It isn't a problem. Just drop by the office and pick up the keys.” Anger welled up inside me at the thought of Leonard's men driving someone from their home. ”The place is furnished. Is that going to be a problem?”
He genuinely smiled again. ”All my worldly possessions fit in my van.” He sat back dreamily as he spoke. ”To sleep on something other than an air mattress is going to be heavenly.”
”You deserve it.” Opening the small piece of paper it only contained an address.
”1615 South Saratoga St.”
”I take it this is where I can find Creepy George?”
Billy nodded. ”From what I hear he has been holed up there since this morning.”
”Thanks Billy.” I stuck my hand out to shake his. ”Don't forget to stop by the office and pick up those keys.” Pulling out my wallet Billy started laughing.
”You didn't really think you were going to pay for this did you?” Billy rocked forward in his chair as his face turned several shades of red. ”Oh G.o.d you must have b.u.mped your head harder than I thought”, wiping the tears out of his eyes. ”Like you said earlier I always eat for free!”
Tossing two twenties on the table I stood. ”They can consider it a well earned tip.” Billy nodded in approval. ”Thanks again for everything.”
Billy shrugged. ”Tis nothing mon frere.”
”It is to me.”
”If it means that much to you.” Billy smiled with wickedness in his eyes. ”Want to do me a favor?”
Curiosity got the better of me. ”And what could you possibly want me to do for you?”
Billy's face went deadly serious as he spoke. ”Can you please knock that s.h.i.+t eating grin off the Gatekeeper's face?”
Billy and I had a good laugh as we walked out of the door and to our respective vehicles. Before proceeding any further I called Justine to let her know that Billy would be by to pick up the keys to the apartment on Seventh Street. Wheeling the car into traffic I headed for South Saratoga St in Central City.
Chapter 14.
About fifteen minutes later I was in the heart of Central City. I pulled into a parking lot across from the Israelite Baptist Church and waited a few minutes to make sure that I hadn't attracted any unwanted attention. S. Saratoga wasn't in the best of neighborhoods as abandoned houses were the norm more often than not these days. According to the satellite photos Justine sent over the front half of the two story house was intact. The back of the property was a different animal altogether. It was a burned out hulk. Prior to the fire that gutted the place the house must have been the nicest place for several blocks.
Making my approach to the house I focused my will wrapping my s.h.i.+elds tightly around me. I felt a surge of power flow through my body as the s.h.i.+elds were activated. Something told me that Mir's repairs were coming along splendidly and the upgrades would be less taxing and more powerful than anything I had known prior. This could prove to be an interesting development or not, G.o.d only knew at this point. The front door and all of the first floor windows were boarded over, and trash and other debris lined the abandoned building except the garage door. Here all the debris was pushed back slightly when someone had opened the door to gain entrance.
Watching the upstairs windows as I pa.s.sed by the house I didn't catch any movement. I ducked through the broken fence and made my way through the charred remains quiet as a church mouse. Feeling my s.h.i.+elds s.h.i.+ft slightly I slowed my progress as I tryed to discern what had changed. It took me a moment to realize that while slightly distorted my s.h.i.+elds were reflecting and wrapping my surroundings around me, rendering me not invisible per se but very well camouflaged. Things were certainly turning in my favor today, which usually meant that something was about to go spectacularly wrong. I don't know about you but when stuff starts going this well for me something really bad comes along and takes a chunk out of my already nonexistent a.s.s.
As I pulled my pistol I opened the scorched door that led to the unscathed half of the house. The door leading to the garage lay broken in the hallway. Stepping over it carefully I cleared the first floor before proceeding upstairs. The stairwell was smeared with old blood and the stench of rotting carrion a.s.saulted my senses, nearly overwhelming me. Choking back the nausea I steeled myself for what was to come. Though I had wounded Creepy George I was sure he was not the source of what I was seeing or smelling. Taking a tentative step up the stairs my skin crawled at the wrongness of my surroundings. Each step brought a nearly imperceptible whisper of a crunch from the copious amounts of dried blood that had mixed with a heavy layer of dust.
Reaching the top of the stairs the walls seemed to ripple and humm in universal objection of my arrival. The wall nearest me burst to life as thousands of flies angrily swarmed my s.h.i.+elds, as I tried to swat them out of my field of vision. I was almost instantly sorry I had. The now vacant wall was covered in all types of bodily fluids, of which blood was the least offensive to my senses. The old hardwood floor running the length of the hallway was smeared in feces and blood alike, drag marks leading into each bedroom. The door furthest away from me was slightly ajar and sunlight weakly shone through.
Pus.h.i.+ng the door open with the barrel of my pistol it revealed what must have been the master bedroom during its prior life as a dwelling for the living. Neglect and abandonment had taken its toll leaving the room a broken and tattered version of what it had once been. A ragged, heavily stained mattress lay on the floor under the heavily molded windows. Filth cluttered the heavily scarred wooden floor. Thick red ichor pooled outside the double wide closet doors. Stepping across the threshold my eyes watered from the overpowering stench of rotting flesh.
Upon closer inspection of the mattress, a fresh pool of blood glistening in the weak sunlight caught my attention. Realizing I couldn't ignore the rotting pachyderm in the room any longer I turned my attention to the closet. I pulled open one of the doors, revealing several bodies in varying stages of decay, the freshest of what I guessed to be a man in his early twenties dressed in black leather chaps. Hundreds of cuts could be seen on his torso most of which were superficial and hardly life threatening. Some were deep enough to have required medical attention had he lived long enough but the ragged gash across his throat had ended his life.
Satisfied that the house was empty I tucked my pistol in its holster and I made my way down to the kitchen rummaging through the cabinets until I found a box of ziploc baggies. Taking a couple I sprinted back up the stairs to the bedroom. Pulling out my knife I cut a large section of the fresh blood stained mattress and stuffed it into the waiting baggies which I quickly shoved in my jacket pockets, then made my way to the front door. The need for stealth was well behind me, so I quickly kicked in the plywood covering the door, causing it to land heavily on the porch. Pulling my phone out of my pocket I dialed Tony Costa's number as I walked to my vehicle.
”Tony?” Hitting the key fob to unlock the door I put the ziploc bags in my glove compartment.
”This is Detective Costa, how can I help you today?” Tony's voice was hard and irritated as he spoke.
”Sorry about calling you on your personal cell.” I needed to make sure that he didn't ignore the call so I bypa.s.sed his work number. ”This is Viktor Warden.”
”Oh... Hey...” Tony stammered looking for the words to chew me out.
”Again sorry about this but I have some information you need to hear.” Trying to cut him off before he built up a head of steam.
”This can't be good!”
”Well that depends on how you look at it.” Relis.h.i.+ng the fresh air as I leaned against my truck I sucked in a particularly deep breath before continuing. ”I know where you can find your missing prost.i.tutes.”
Hearing something sc.r.a.ping across the floor and coming to an abrupt silence I began to wonder about Tony's wellbeing. ”Alright, I'm sitting. Now go ahead and hit me with it.”
”I will text you the address after we hang up but someone needs to get here fast.” The foul stench of the house reached me even this far away. ”There must be a half dozen bodies in the master bedroom alone.” No longer able to tolerate the smell I coughed to clear my throat as I opened the door to my SUV and climbed inside, though I was fairly sure that the smell had permeated my clothes. ”I will wait outside till someone gets here but if I were you I would send everyone you have to process the scene.”
”Oh, G.o.d...” Tony took a sharp breath then groaned. ”It's that bad?”
As I sat in my truck, memories still too fresh in my mind a.s.saulted me. ”Yeah it's that bad.”
”Do we have a suspect?”
”You're not going to like it.” The memory of Creepy George tossing me through a window came to mind. ”I'm sure you already heard about my incident yesterday?”
Keys rattled in the background as he issued commands. ”Yeah I heard about it.”