In for the Kill [Hawkman Series Book 9] (18 page)

Hawkman knitted his brows. “I see."

"I guess I better go find him. But he's not going to be happy when I tell him I won't be part of his game.” Jack gunned the jeep and started backing up.

Hawkman stepped out on the landing. “Hold on, Hargrove. What do you mean?"

He stepped on the brake and glanced up with a sad expression. “I've been betrayed and used."

"I'm not following you."

Jack leaned his head out the window of the Willys. “I thought you were a mean bastard. Didn't care anything about others. After my wife died, I went downhill. My son took advantage of my situation and planted seeds of resentment about you in my mind without me even realizing it. So I concentrated on getting revenge for what I thought you'd done to Ray. I've made a terrible mistake."

Hawkman moved toward the jeep, but Jack threw it into reverse and kicked up gravel as he backed up. When he hit the asphalt, the smell of rubber wafted through the air as he sped away. Picking up the tire iron, Hawkman held it by the end so he wouldn't disturb any fingerprints and headed back to the house.

Jennifer quickly turned off the porch light. “Get inside, you're a nice target standing out there."

He stepped into the kitchen as she shut the door. “Did you hear what he said?"

"Yes. It's a little hard to believe after all the things he's done."

He placed the pipe in a paper grocery bag.

She pointed at the sack. “What'd you just put in there?"

"I have a suspicion it's the weapon used on my head."

"I thought we were going to call the Bronsons."

"If he'd seen their vehicle, he wouldn't have stopped. He knew he had a chance of getting away, If he just had to face me and Ray.” Hawkman glanced out the kitchen window. “I'm not sure if this visit is part of a plan he and Ray contrived or if the old man has actually had a change of heart."

Jennifer grabbed his arm. “Don't go soft. Didn't you say you got out of there because you heard them talking about killing you?"

"Yes. That's why I don't understand how he could think Skokie was here."

"Maybe Ray thought you were still waiting for him and left his dad at the hideout."

"Possible. But somehow the pieces of this puzzle are not fitting together."

She rubbed her arms and gave a little shiver. “It sounds mighty fishy to me. I don't trust either of them."

"Me either.” He turned on the alarm. “I don't think we better let our guard down. It may be exactly what they're wanting."

She snapped her fingers. “You know, he might have been checking on whether the suitcase blew up in the house."

"Good point. He figured he'd have won half the battle, if something had happened to you."

"I'm sure he saw me standing in the doorway. So he knows I'm okay."

"And it's too dark outside for him to have noticed the burned debris in the yard. He could very well be checking, and then report to Ray."

Jennifer rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. “It looks like a night of little sleep."

"Go ahead and get to bed. I'll stand guard. Once you're rested, I'll catch a few winks."

Jack clicked the headlights onto bright, then drove east on Ager Beswick. He wondered if Ray had gone back to the hideout and discovered him gone. Would his son risk staying at the shack for a few hours to rest or would he be hiking toward the lake?

He reached the cutoff and drove toward the hideout. Stopping in front of the shadowed area, he took the flashlight from under the seat and shined the beam at the shanty. “Ray, are you in there?” he called.

Several seconds passed before his son stumbled out of the opening with his hand shading his eyes. “Get the damn light off my face."

Jack lowered the beam to the ground as Ray made his way to the side of the jeep.

"Dad, where the hell did you go?

"I thought I better get out of here before someone discovered me. I took a chance and drove up to Casey's place thinking you'd be there. When I didn't see any cops around, I called him out."

"You talked to him?"

Jack nodded. “Yeah. That's when I found out he'd left you, so I figured I'd better do a little searching."

"I thought you'd deserted me and I sure didn't cherish the thought of walking all the way back to the lake."

"A confrontation with Casey would have been dangerous. He overheard us talking and wouldn't be very receptive at seeing you."

"How come he let you leave?"

"I didn't let him get close and then I gave him a song and dance about how I'd made a big mistake about going along with your plan, and wanted to tell you."

"He believed it?"

Jack shrugged. “He didn't shoot me."

Ray rubbed the hair growth on his chin. “He'll probably have the cops swarming these hills before long."

"I think we should go to Klamath Falls. It'll be a rough ride, but I think we can make it in the jeep. The farther we get away from here, the safer it'll be."

Ray glared at his dad. “No. I didn't come all the way back here to turn tail and run. I came to help you complete a mission, and we're not leaving until it's done. But before we find another hiding spot, I'd like to get some items I left at Casey's place."

Jack shook his head. “As I said, I don't think it's a good idea. He's armed his household to the hilt."

"How do you know?"

"He met me at the door with a .45 pointed at my head. And I could see his wife standing behind him and she had a gun in her hand. I've also spotted police vehicles parked around their place."

"Doesn't sound like they've fooled with my suitcase."

"I couldn't tell you. But I didn't see any holes in the walls."

Ray shifted his position. “If our agent overhead our conversation, I'm surprised he hasn't gone through my things."

"I have no idea, but I think we're wasting time here. The longer we stand around shooting the breeze, the sooner daylight will be upon us.” He patted the steering wheel. “And this little baby stands out like a sore thumb."

"Okay, let me gather up my stuff and I'll be right with you."

Ray hoisted the backpack into the jeep and climbed onto the seat. “Okay, let's go. Any idea where we can hide for a couple of days?"

"I spotted an old deserted barn past the ranch. No houses near it. We might be safe in there for a while. You got any food in that pack?"

Ray opened it and pulled out several items. “Yeah, a couple of sandwiches. Some water, an apple, and a can of beans with a pull-top. Probably should eat these sandwiches before they go bad."

"Sounds good to me. It's been a long night and I'm hungry."

The two men munched as they drove along. Soon, Jack pointed to a big building off the road. “There it is. I think we can sneak in without being detected."

He moved along slowly as he searched for an opening. Finding the gate, he hopped out, fiddled with the chain and pushed it open. He drove through, then went back and hooked the padlock so it appeared locked. Driving toward the doorless structure, he noted a horse trailer occupied the middle of the barn floor. “This is perfect; if I park in front of the trailer, it will hide the jeep from the road.” Jack drove deep into the darkened area and turned off the lights.

"Man, it's pitch dark in here,” Ray said, flipping on the flashlight and scouring the walls.

"Our eyes will get accustomed to it soon,” Jack said, as his light focused on the other side. “Let's make sure there isn't a nest of rattlers in here."

"Nice thought, Dad. Think I'll wait until daylight before I put my bedroll down on the ground."

Jack chuckled. “Don't blame you. However, it might be a bit more comfortable to sleep in the trailer."

"Great idea. Let's check it out."

They inspected the inside, and found it reasonably clean. Spreading out their bedrolls, they scooted between the covers and before long both men were snoring.

Jack awoke first, and rolled up his bedding. “Sure don't want any varmints crawling into it", he mumbled, propping it on the inside wall of the trailer. He scooted out of the enclosure, and went to the jeep. He rummaged through the gear until he found a couple of canteens and a small bucket. He stood in the shadow, behind the opened barn door, and scanned the region. Not seeing any vehicles or movements, he hunkered down behind the brush and scurried toward Shovel Creek, a small stream he'd spotted earlier, not more than a hundred yards from the building. While keeping an eye peeled, he kneeled down to fill the containers with water, and almost fell in when a doe crashed out of the bush. Catching his breath, he watched the deer scamper away, then tried again. Once he'd filled the canteens to the brim, he screwed on the lids, then rinsed out the bucket and dipped it into the stream. Hurrying back to the barn, he placed the water pail under the jeep and covered it with a board.

The wall of the barn had several timbers missing and lots of rotted wood lay on the ground. He rubbed a hand down his beard as he stared out one of the slots. “Sure wish I knew the territory better,” he mumbled. He turned and walked back toward the jeep. “Wonder if I should build a fire and make some coffee?” he said aloud.

"Sounds like a great idea."

Jack whirled around as Ray stumbled out of the trailer.

"Good Lord, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, didn't intend to."

"I've noticed signs along the road saying no fires permitted. Smoke in broad daylight would draw attention. We'd be better off to build one at night. We'll find a protected spot where the flames can't be seen and the wind is right."

"We for sure don't want any firemen up here.” Ray massaged his thigh. “But boy, a cup of coffee would taste good.” He pointed toward the Willys. “You wouldn't by chance have a camp stove tucked away?"

"Nope. Things moved too fast and I had to get out of town. Have very few supplies, but I do have coffee. You like it cold?"

"Naw.” Ray moved to the rear of the jeep and peered inside. “We're going to have to eat. What sort of food stuffs do you have?"

Jack rummaged through a sack. “Here's a couple of wieners and some hot dog buns. We can eat these raw. In fact, we better devour them now or they'll go bad. Even have some mustard and catsup."

Grinning, Ray took a bun from the wrapper and plastered it with catsup. “I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into this."

"Call it gourmet dining,” Jack said, laughing and handed him one of the canteens. “Here's fresh stream water to wash it down."

Munching on his cold food, Ray walked to the entrance of the barn and looked out. “How far are we from the nearest farm house?"

"I'd say about half a mile. Why?"

"Might just have to make a little raid on someone's kitchen."

Jack found a bag of crushed potato chips in the bottom of the sack. “Want some chips,” he said, walking toward Ray.

He dug in and pulled out a handful of broken pieces. “Better than nothing."

"Might be a little risky to break into a house with farm hands around."

"We'll wait until the wife's gone into town and the men are in the field. It'll probably be a piece of cake, as I doubt they lock their doors."

While his son talked, Jack strolled around the barn looking into each corner and noticed a red can attached to the front of the horse trailer. He unscrewed the lid and gave it a sniff, then lifted it from its spot. “Ah, ha. Found just what we needed."

Ray turned his head and looked at his dad. “What?"

Jack held up the can. “A gallon of gas. This will get us a long way in the jeep."

"I think we better hoof it to the farm houses. The Willys would draw too much attention."

"True, but we'll need this later."

The two men prepared for their hike.

Hawkman turned off the lamp, opened the drapes and sat in his chair by the picture window overlooking the lake. He watched the road for any headlights but knew Pretty Girl, resting on the perch nearby, would make a noise if anyone came around. Soon, he drifted into sleep.

The light of a new day perked up the outside and a large flock of Canadian geese flew over the house, vibrating the tiles on the roof with their loud honking. Hawkman yawned, stood up and stretched.

"Pretty Girl, I think it's safe to take you back to the aviary.” He slipped on the long leather glove and untied her tether. She stepped onto his arm without hesitation and he carried her out to the deck. After cleaning out the bottom of the enclosure, filling the water tin and checking her food supply, he secured the cage, then stood for a moment taking in the beautiful morning.

Back inside, he folded and draped the sheet over the perch. Might need to put her in again tonight, he thought, as he moved the contraption deeper into the corner. He put on a pot of coffee and ate a bowl of dry cereal.

Jennifer came around the corner with Miss Marple draped over her shoulder. “Okay, time for you to grab a few winks of sleep."

"I already did. Pretty Girl turned out to be the guard. I'm going to go see if I can find Jack."

She glanced toward the perch, and seeing the falcon had been returned to the aviary, placed the cat on the floor. “Did you call Ken?"

"No. I'm debating if I should."

Jennifer put a hand on her hip. “You can't go alone. They've had time to find another hiding spot and it's a huge area out there. You'll be like a big target with cross hairs painted on your chest. If you're so set on this mission, I'll go with you. Another set of eyes can only help."

He poured them some coffee, then looked at her with a scowl. “Are you crazy?"

She glared at him. “No more than you wanting to go hunt down two ex-agents, who know the ropes as well as you, if not better."

"I'm not going to risk you getting shot."

"That goes both ways."

"This is my job, not yours."

"Weak excuses don't hold water."

"Well, you're not going and that's final."

"I hate to tell you this, Mr. Tom Casey, but don't try to leave without me, or I'll take my own car and seek them out. Now, do you want me to go by myself or with you?"

"What's with the ‘Mr. Tom Casey’ bit?"