Ring of Lies (76 page)

‘
It is
,
’
Kennedy replied.

The man grunted and waited while the waitress slapped two mugs of coffee down on the chipped Formica table, and then shuffled back to the counter. He took a swallow, grimaced, and pushed the mug aside.

‘
If this is so urgent,
’
the stocky man said,
‘
t
hen
how come
you had to drag me all the way out here
?
I’ve got
people to see,
things to do.
’

Kennedy
raised an eyebrow.
‘
A
girl
, no doubt.
’

The other man shrugged.
‘
W
hat
’s
so important that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?
’

‘
I’ve found the woman you were asking about
.
’

The stranger
picked up a knife and ran the
blade
under his fingernails.
‘
And
?
’

‘
She
turned up at
Sand Dollars
a couple of hours ago
.
’
The waitress
re-
appeared at the
table.
Kennedy waved her away.
‘
My information alone
has to be worth at least five grand
.
’

‘
Five grand,
’
said the little man evenly.
‘
So, both sisters are at the house, along with West. How many other agents are present?
’

‘
Me
and one other.
’

‘
Armed?
’

Kennedy glared at the man.
‘
What do you think?
’

‘
I’m guessing standard issue Glocks.
What about the house?
’

Kennedy straightened his back.
‘
The doors and windows are fitted with an alarm
.
Control panel is just inside the door.
’

‘
Can you get the code?
’

‘
You don’t need it
.
’

The stranger
’
s mouth took on an unpleasant twist
.
‘
What about the local cops?
’

Kennedy laughed.
‘
Predic
t
able. They do a drive by every hour, on the hour.
’

‘
Anything else I should know?
’

‘
The security lights surrounding the house are on sensors and light up when anything larger than a cat passes by. Tell me when you plan on visiting and I’ll make sure they’re de-activated.
’

‘
Very well. I’ll arrange for five thousand
—
’

‘
My fee’s just doubled
,
’
hissed Kennedy.

‘
—
to be transferred to your account in the morning.
’

Kennedy shook his head.
‘
Ten
thousand
.
Five’s not enough.

‘
Still the greedy one, aren’t you
,
Mr
.
Kennedy?
’

‘
Think of it as an investment.
I’m
the one who’s taking all the risk. Y
ou’ll make a lot more than that, if you pull this off.
’

‘
You mean
when
I pull it off, which I will do whether or not you are involved in the enterprise.
’
The stranger leaned forward
and motioned for Kennedy to do the same
.
‘
If
you’d dealt with things
properly
in the first place none of this would be necessary
,
’
he whispered conspiratorially
.
‘
A
s it is, I’ve had to hire someone to clean up this mess.
F
ive
thousand
,
Mr
. Kennedy, n
ot a penny more. Take it, and be
grateful you’re
still alive
.
’

Disgruntled, Kennedy eased his
large frame
out of the booth and headed for the door.

The
stocky man
remained seated
, his gaze fixed on the retreating bulk of Kennedy as he crossed the parking lot to his car. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and punched a number on his speed dial.

‘
The man getting in
to
the
Ford Taurus
,
’
he said to Vasquez
.
‘
Tall, overweight,
blue
jeans and a
white
sport shirt.
K
ill him.
’

‘
That’ll cost more,
’
Vasquez replied.

‘
Don’t worry, you’ll get paid.
’

‘
When do you want it done?
’

‘
Tonight, before he returns to the island. Make it bloody and brutal. I want the cops to think it’s a
revenge killing
.
’

‘
No problem.
’

‘
When
you’re finished
, call me. I have another job for you.
’
He
snapped shut his
phone and glanced at his watch—
plenty of time to keep his next appointment. He
slapped a
ten-dollar
bill down on the table
. The bored waitress’ eyes flew open in surprise. Before she could speak, he
shuffled toward the exit,
a satanic smile spread
ing
across his thin lips.

Kennedy
drove
hi
s
Government Issue
car
out of the parking lot
and
headed west.
Thirty seconds
later
a
silver Ford Escape
pulled in behind and followed
the Taurus
onto the
high
way.

He smiled, and thought about the addition to his retirement fund. Five thousand wasn’t much, but small payments could easily be passed off as gambling wins and
would
n’t draw
the
attention of the authorities.

He laughed out loud.
Fifteen years chasing criminals, risking his life day and night, and what did
he
have to look forward to? A
government
pension that wouldn’t keep his
two ex-wives and daughter
in shoes!

So he’d started his own pension scheme, one that would allow him to lead a comfortable life in whichever tax haven he chose.
H
e’d been careful never
to
jeopardiz
e
the
major
cases,
just a
word in the right ear now and again ensured
small, but
regular payments into
his
account in the Cayman Islands. T
here was n
othing like
working
the system, especially when you knew how
.

A flash in the driver’s mirror caught his attention. He straightened his shoulders and
wondered what the asshole behind
him
was playing at. The lights flashed again. Kennedy swore. Perhaps he’d picked up a flat at the diner
.
He applied gentle pressure to the brake p
edal, no point in ruining the ty
re, and steered
to the side of the road.
The Ford pulled in behind
.

Kennedy stuffed the keys of the Taurus into his jeans pocket and eased out of the car. As he bent down to examine the rear
wheel
, two feet appeared
at
his side. He looked up at the man standing
next to him
.