The TANNER Series - Books 13-15 (Tanner Box Set) Read online

  Hodges paid no attention to Choa and Tony. He was thinking about Tom Myers, and how close he had come to messing up. Then, he leaned back in his seat, and wondered just what the hell a guy like Tom Myers was doing in a town like Killburry.

  ***

  Tanner was smiling into his phone as he spoke to Sara.

  She had asked him about life in Killburry, and he was telling her about the neighborhood watch group.

  “Do they really wear uniforms?” Sara asked.

  “Yeah, bright yellow shirts with black pants, and white caps with numbers on them. If I were to join them, I would be Number 5.”

  “I would pay to see you wearing an outfit like that,” Sara said.

  “I’d rather join the Boy Scouts; their uniforms are better. But tell me Blake, to what do I owe this call?”

  “I have to have a reason to call you?”

  “No, I guess not, but you have one anyway.”

  Sara told Tanner about her meeting with Jacques Durand, and he surprised Sara by revealing what Alexa had told her about Deke.

  “Nine men?”

  “Yeah, so our Deke has more skills than we knew.”

  “You’re thinking that he could be Scallato?”

  “He seems more likely than Jake Vincento to me.”

  “Maybe, but Durand also has a picture of a man who he believes might be Scallato. It only shows the right side of his head, but the man in the photo is built more like Vincento than Deke.”

  “You say that it shows the right side of his head? Does that include his ear?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Ears are as unique as fingerprints. If you can get an isolated shot of that ear, it can be compared to Deke and Scallato.”

  “You’re right, I have heard about that. It was used by the Bureau at times. I’ll get on that, and I’ll send you a copy of the photo.”

  “You say that Jacques Durand has Interpol ties?”

  “He’s a former agent. He also has strong ties to our agencies over here. He knew about Burke’s wet works program.”

  “Hmm, well if he’s that connected, then let him use his contacts to have that photo run through facial recognition. They’ll have to adjust the parameters to focus primarily on ears, but they might get a hit.”

  “Tanner, that story about Deke, why didn’t you tell me about that sooner?”

  “It’s because I just found out today. Deke had asked Alexa to lie to me.”

  “And she did, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, Blake.”

  “I’m sorry, but she did tell you eventually, that counts for something.”

  “It counts. So Blake, what does Burke have you doing in L.A.?”

  “I’m hunting a corporate spy.”

  “That sounds like more fun than I’m having. Killburry is not exactly action central.”

  “Don’t lose your edge, Tanner.”

  “With the possibility that Scallato is stalking me? Not a chance.”

  ***

  Sara spoke with Tanner a while longer, but ended the call when the man she was following went on the move again.

  Sara was tailing Seth Exley, as she had come to believe that he might be the spy she was looking for. Exley, a security guard, had become the boyfriend of his new boss, Burke L.A.’s head of security, Amanda Zwicky. Exley was also very friendly with the assistant of the man who ran Burke L.A.

  Sara wondered if Exley had learned the combination to the safe from one woman, Quale’s assistant, Rebecca Holloway, while learning how to somehow bypass the biometrics to the encrypted laptop from the other woman, Zwicky.

  Zwicky claimed that there was no way to bypass the thumbprint scan, but Sara wasn’t sure about that. She also wasn’t sure about Zwicky, but she had liked the woman and thought that she seemed trustworthy.

  ***

  Sara had learned to follow suspects during her time in the FBI.

  She had changed her appearance to do so effectively, since her subject knew her. She was wearing a blond wig with glasses and had dressed in a pantsuit that was two sizes too big. The clothes fit well, thanks to the towels she had wrapped around her waist and hips, and secured with duct tape.

  A pair of flat shoes combined with the towels had made Sara appear heavier and shorter, while the blonde wig, glasses, and overdone makeup changed her appearance even more.

  Exley had just left his apartment in East Hollywood. Sara thought he was headed for the 101 freeway, but Exley only drove a block before stopping at a convenience store. He came out of the store a few minutes later chugging on a soda while looking down at what Sara took to be lottery tickets in his left hand.

  Afterwards, Exley drove six more blocks before he parked in front of an apartment building. A minute later, Rebecca Holloway came out of the building wearing a very short red dress and climbed into Exley’s car.

  This time, Exley did take the freeway, but he didn’t drive very far north before getting off and pulling into the parking lot of a hotel. Sara followed them into the lot, and was surprised to see Exley drop Rebecca Holloway at the front of the building.

  They had shared a hot kiss, and then Holloway went inside while Exley pulled away from the door. Sara was wondering whether to stay with Exley, or to leave her car and follow Holloway.

  She chose to follow the woman, while thinking that Holloway might be meeting someone in the hotel bar.

  As Sara opened the door to enter the hotel, she heard a car door slam from behind her in the parking lot, and saw that Exley hadn’t left, but had simply parked his car.

  Sara wondered why the two had bothered to separate, but figured that Holloway was lazy and just wanted to be dropped off rather than take the short walk in from the parking lot.

  Holloway was already on the elevator with three hotel guests when Sara reached it. The lack of a reaction by Holloway informed Sara that she hadn’t been recognized, as she stepped onto the elevator.

  Sara pretended to check her phone for messages, then saw that she had one from Jacques Durand. The text said that he thought that the idea of using facial recognition on the ear shown in the photo he had was brilliant, and that the search was already underway.

  That news intrigued Sara. She had sent off a text to Durand about the facial recognition just after hanging up with Tanner. If Durand was able to get things moving that quickly, perhaps he wasn’t as retired from police work as he led others to believe.

  Sara had been so lost in thought about Durand, Tanner, and Scallato that she was surprised when the elevator came to a stop on the eighth floor and Holloway walked off.

  Holloway left the elevator going right, so Sara went left, but then doubled back as soon as Holloway was out of sight. After rounding a corner, Sara saw that Holloway was nearing the other end of the corridor.

  When Holloway stopped in front of the last door on the left, Sara stepped into an alcove, where the freight elevators were. When she heard a door open, she peeked out, but was unable to get a look at who Holloway was meeting.

  She left the freight elevators and headed for the door of the room Holloway had entered. If she couldn’t see who had opened the door, then perhaps she could identify them by voice if she listened at the door.

  She was almost there when she realized that someone was rushing up behind her. Sara pressed her back against the wall as her hand reached for the gun in her purse. Before she could react further, Seth Exley went rushing by her while sending her a word of apology.

  Using a keycard, Exley let himself into the room that was to the right of the one Holloway had entered, then he slammed the door behind him.

  Sara stood there, wondering what was going on, and determined to find out who it was that Holloway had joined in the first hotel room.

  Reaching into her purse, Sara removed a camera that looked like an ordinary smoke detector. After activating the camera, she peeled off the strip of paper covering the adhesive on the back of the device. After checking to see that there was no one else in the hallway, Sara press
ed the smoke detector above the door of the room that was opposite the one that Holloway had disappeared into.

  The device stayed in place and was transmitting a video to her phone. Not satisfied with that, Sara returned to the lobby and took the room where she had placed the camera. Room 849 was available for one night only and Sara gladly took it. It sat directly across from room 850, the suite that Rebecca Holloway had entered, and would also grant her a view of the room that Exley was inside.

  Sara took the elevator back up to the eighth floor, entered the room, and leaned against the door with her eye glued to the peephole. When nothing happened during the first hour, she quickly dragged over a chair and sat looking at the feed from the camera.

  Over an hour passed with nothing happening, and she wished she had a partner to share the burden of waiting. Not only was she bored, but she also had to pee and was thirsty. She knew that she could still view the hall by using the camera, but she had learned over the years that while the camera catches things that the eye can’t, the opposite was also true. There was no substitute for direct experience.

  Just as she was considering risking a quick bathroom break, she heard the doors across the hallway from her room open. When she looked out the peephole, she saw Rebecca Holloway, who was wearing a terrycloth robe, pass a laptop over to Seth Exley.

  Exley took it with one hand, while handing Holloway a second laptop with his other hand. The two shared a smile, and then returned inside their respective rooms and shut the door.

  Sara sat down in the chair and tried to piece together what she had seen, and figure out what it meant. She was so engrossed in thought that she temporarily forgot she had to pee and that she was thirsty.

  A little while later, Sara heard a door opening across the hall, that was followed by the sound of Rebecca Holloway giggling.

  Sara stood and pressed her eye against the door to view Holloway’s companion, and most certainly a man who was her lover.

  Burke L.A. Senior Vice President Arthur Quale didn’t appear nearly as distinguished and impressive as Sara remembered him looking. But then, a well-tailored suit gave a man more stature than a pair of boxer shorts.

  Rebecca Holloway gave her much older boss a lingering kiss before leaving and heading down the corridor, but once Quale had shut the door, Holloway spun around and headed to the second room, where Exley waited for her. She was about to knock when the door opened and Exley whisked her into the room, while grinning.

  Sara’s mind was spinning with a web of possibilities to explain what she had just seen, but then her bladder reminded her that, in practical matters, it held more sway over her than her mind did.

  Sara rushed into the bathroom, pulled down the oversized pants she was wearing, and let out a sigh of relief.

  CHAPTER 10 – Rendezvous

  Alexa returned home around ten p.m. and Tanner could tell that she enjoyed her time with her new friends. They settled on the sofa together and talked.

  “Those women are fascinating. They were running a karate academy together in Brooklyn when they met their husbands, and Anna and Louise are both fencers. Louise even made it to the Olympics, but she didn’t win a medal.”

  “What about their husbands, the neighborhood heroes? Do they all know karate?”

  “No. Oh, but I did hear some news that might make you change your mind about joining them.”

  “What is it? Are they getting new matching shirts and hats?”

  “Better, they’re going to get bikes to patrol on.”

  “Motorcycles?”

  “No, bicycles, with sidecars, but they will all match.”

  “That is tempting,” Tanner said, and Alexa laughed.

  He hated to ruin her good mood by discussing what Sara had told him about Jacques Durand’s suspicions. However, if Deke were actually Maurice Scallato, Alexa needed to know and to be wary of the man.

  “Deke is not Scallato. I would sense something that big, and besides, he would have already tried to kill you, wouldn’t he?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is that the man wants to keep his lethal skills a secret. Remember the time we all took target practice at the lake? He was the worst shot of all of us, but now I think he was missing on purpose.”

  “I think so too, but I think he did it so that he wouldn’t be thought of as an accomplished killer. He’s told me that he just wants to live a nice, quiet life and put his past behind him.”

  Tanner smirked.

  “He sounds like your kind of man.”

  Alexa smiled and kissed Tanner on the lips.

  “That’s the closest thing to jealousy I’ve ever heard from you.”

  “I was just stating a fact.”

  Alexa stood.

  “Here’s a fact for you. I’m going to take a shower and then I’m getting into bed naked.”

  Tanner smiled up at her.

  “Expect company.”

  Alexa leaned over and kissed him.

  “I look forward to it. Oh yes, Josie insisted that I tell you she said hello.”

  “It’s so nice to have a friend in the neighborhood.”

  “She’d like to be a friend with benefits, and you should have seen the look I gave her.”

  “If she knew what you were capable of, she would never so much as glance my way again.”

  “Maybe I’ll give her a demonstration someday. Don’t forget to turn out the lights and set the alarm.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “And don’t be long; I plan to take a quick shower.”

  Tanner sent her a wink, then he stood and walked into the kitchen. After checking the door locks and turning out the lights, he set the alarm.

  He still felt strange living in a real house after so many years of crashing in motels and hotels, but he had to admit, he had come to like it.

  As he headed up the stairs, he heard a noise from out on the street. When he reached the landing, he looked out a window and saw Bill Vitale, Darren Garston, George Tucker, and Ted Anderson walking along together.

  The neighborhood watch was on patrol and keeping the cul-de-sac safe. The four men stayed close together and their bright yellow shirts and white caps stood out like beacons in the dark, so that only a blind man would be unable to avoid them.

  Dexter Hodges, who was skulking at the rear of Tanner’s house wasn’t blind. The young man also had plans to make his move on the home once he thought Tanner was asleep.

  Tanner hurried up to his bedroom, and the last thing he was thinking about was sleep.

  ***

  On the other side of the park, Burt Hodges cursed and picked up the phone. He speed-dialed his son again, and again his call went to voicemail.

  When he heard a car park, he figured that Dexter had come home. However, after opening his front door, he saw that it was only Dexter’s friends from across the street, Pete and Rocco. Whichever one of them had been driving was drunk, as the car had a front wheel up on the curb.

  Pete and Rocco worked for Hodges as laundromat attendants. They had another job as well, which they did on the weekends.

  Hodges owned more than a hundred abandoned properties. In order to keep them from rotting, he had Pete and Rocco go into each home every week and do a visual inspection for vermin. They also had to flush the toilets, let the water run through the pipes, and flick the lights on and off.

  Pete and Rocco were also Hodges’ tenants, and most of their salary went to pay the rent that went to Hodges. Meanwhile, Choa and Tony lived rent free in two of the best houses.

  If it weren’t for the fact that Pete and Rocco worked so cheaply, Hodges would have fired them, because they were both idiots.

  Hodges stepped out onto his porch and called to them.

  “Hey guys, where’s Dexter? I thought he was hanging with you two.”

  Pete answered. He was taller, older, and smarter than his brother. He was still only five-foot-eight, nineteen, and a halfwit. Although eighteen-year-old Rocco was shorter, he was wider, and both b
oys had curly black hair.

  “We were with him earlier, drinking at a friend’s house, Mr. Hodges, you know?” Pete said. “But Dex left us, said he had some business to see to.”

  “A girl?”

  Rocco laughed.

  “Nah, nothing that good. He just went across the park to visit the guy that broke his wrist. We were going to go with him, but we’re tired and way too drunk. Pete even puked once on the way home.”

  Hodges ran down his front porch steps, across the street, and grabbed Rocco by the shoulders.

  “You’re telling me that Dexter is planning to beat up Tom Myers?”

  Rocco weaved a bit as he smiled at Hodges.

  “No, he ain’t gonna fight him. Dex just borrowed my baseball bat to show him. Is Tom Myers a baseball fan or something Mr. Hodges?”

  “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’” Hodges shouted. He released Rocco and ran back across the street.

  He grabbed a sawed-off shotgun from his office closet, filled his pockets with shells from a box he spilled open on his desk, and then whipped out his cell phone. He made a call as he ran back out of the house and towards his car.

  Choa answered on the third ring.

  “What’s up?”

  “Dexter is going after Myers. Where are you?”

  “I’m just coming back from Tony’s place. You’ll probably see my lights coming around the corner.”

  Hodges had been fishing his keys out of his pocket while holding the phone to his ear. At the same time, he was also trying to keep the shotgun from slipping out of the crook of his arm. When he saw the headlights, he ran towards them and soon hopped inside Choa’s pickup truck.

  Across the street, Pete and Rocco stared at the frantic activity, then shrugged and staggered up the stairs to their house.

  ***

  Inside Choa’s truck, Hodges broke open the shotgun and fed shells into it.

  “Go Choa! We have to stop Dexter.”

  “Boss.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Myers won’t have a problem with Dexter. One look into that guy’s eyes and I knew he wasn’t no punk.”

  “What are you saying?”