The Skinwalker Conspiracies - 02 (39 page)

“What happened to Isabella?”

“Oh, she ran off and it’s not worth my time to track her down right now. Damn girl annoyed the hell out of me anyway. Misty’s days on the pole are over for the time being and it’s time to let others go get information and broker the little deals for a change. What about you, Mike? Going back to college in Maryland? I spoke with your mom on the phone and let her know that you’re going to be okay.”

“Have to wait and see when Silas is ready to travel,”
I answered.

“I can put him on a plane when he’s healed and I’d be willing to foot the bill so he can go to a decent place for rehab and not some hole in the wall,” she offered.

“That’s very nice of you,”
I said wondering where her sudden burst of compassion was coming from. First my mom and now this?

“As for you, how’s five grand a month sound?”

“Huh?”
Oh, now it made sense! She gave with one hand and tried to take with the other. It was classic bait and switch.

“I’d like to put you on a retainer. De Soto eliminated just about all the competition here and ran this place with an iron fist. He’s gone, scattered to the winds, and somebody else might try muscle in. I suspect that with proper guidance, your father will be able to handle most any situation, but occasions might arise where I need someone much more capable.”

“
Why do you think I’d want to work for you? You did try to kill me, in case you’ve forgotten.”
She’d moved onto flattery. The whole thing sounded like the gangster arrangement in Atlantic City.

“I haven’t and you don’t.” She pulled out of the driveway and recklessly accelerated. Despite currently not being in my body, I was still alarmed. Keeping people off balance was one of her negotiating techniques. “But I saw the way you were looking at the red headed scream queen, and I think she might be interested as well.”

“Go on,”
I said, trying to keep a poker face. I did like Karla, but I’d been burned recently and didn’t want to pin my hopes on her until we had a chance to talk.

“Your problem is that you lack the reason to keep coming back and the means as well. I can give you both. Plane flights, dinners and the like cost money you just don’t have. Her parents are filthy rich and, as I recall, you weren’t even comfortable around Heather’s family and they were barely middle class.”

“I’ve changed since then.”
I noted how she said ‘middle class’ like it was a dirty word.

She nodded and continued. “True. You’re more practical. That’s why you’re going to take the offer.”

“You really think so?”
De Soto ran all kinds of rackets. Sixty large was chump change. “Not if you’re going to low ball me like that.”

“See,” she commented with a smug look on her face as her Porsche nearly collided with a van. “You’re smart enough to not jump on the first offer and Thompson’s parents probably pay their landscaper sixty a year. How about ten?”

“Better,”
I said,
“But you should go higher.”

“I could, but I won’t, Mike.”

“And why not?”

She reached over where my chin was and touched it while saying, “Too much money makes Mike fat and lazy. Do you ever see what happens to people that hit the lottery? Even the ones who don’t get possessed by Skinwalkers wanting to indulge in lifestyles of the filthy rich and filthy minded have problems coping with suddenly being wealthy.”

“So you’re doing me a favor, Cassandra? It gets me right here.”
I tapped where my heart would be.

“It’s only because I care, Mike,” she answered and laughed at the ridiculousness of her statement. “Besides, any more than ten and I want you down here full time. If you want to put that on the table, we can talk more?”

“Ten it is then.”
I wondered which of us would be regretting this arrangement someday, probably both.

“Good. Now, the walker working for Travis has already run most of the interference you need in case the locals want to question you, but if they do, I’m going to tell you what you need to say.”

I listened to the cover story with some amusement. Not wanting to violate the rules she was currently violating about pets in her complex, Karla took Silas, me, and our pet beagle to the place she was pet sitting. Some kind of gas pocket trapped below the ground exploded damaging a portion of the house and just so happened to kill my estranged father’s bodyguard as he arrived to visit us with a piece of rock that left a wound not unlike a twelve gauge solid slug. A friend of the family, Officer McKinney from San Antonio, was in town and hustled my dear old dad away in case there were more explosions. People who thought they saw the officer shoot a man were sadly mistaken and more concerned about the neighborhood being evacuated at the time to say much else.

There was a feeling that if I watched the news more often, I’d see more of these bizarre stories that made little sense. Another thing I’d have to get used to.

“I finally come back to Arizona and the bad guy still walks away! This time I even helped,” the Skinwalker known as Will McLaury growled shortly after the doctor who finished examining me left.

Considering he was talking about my dad, I should be offended, but the thought of dear old Pappy sipping margaritas in Cabo San Somewhere Nice while we cleaned up the mess galled me to no end as well.

“Yeah that stinks. You know what’s worse, I really hate hospitals,” I answered with my own personal disappointment. Virginia’s prediction that I’d be held for observation was right on target and I had a new entry in my medical records concerning a possible coma.

Maybe Cassandra’s little job offer wasn’t so bad. Anyone who took a gander at my health records would be convinced I was certifiable, and I wasn’t certain they’d be wrong.

“Can’t say I ever liked ‘em much myself,” San Antonio’s finest mentioned. “You’re square with the locals. They’ve already moved on to something more interesting than a guy hooking up with a girl at the place she’s supposed to be watching.”

“Thanks for the assist,” I said. “How long are you in town for?”

“I’ll hang around until they release you. Then I thought I’d go back to San Antonio by way of Tombstone and pay my respects to Tom and Frank’s graves.”

“Don’t go looking for trouble,” I said. “Joe’s got a nice family.”

“I won’t,” he answered. “I consider them mine as well. From what I hear, all the tourists in Tombstone drove most everyone out of there a long time ago. The few left are old timers. They like to have fun with the visitors looking for a thrill. Look me up on your way back east and I’ll put your skills to use. So, want to go visit your preacher friend?”

“Sure,” I answered and started to swing my legs off the bed. “I need to stretch anyway.”

Will held up a hand and said, “That’d just bring your doctor running. Give me a minute and I’ll get a chair.”

“You’re kidding me?”

He wasn’t.

Man, I really hated hospitals!

Silas looked frail and broken as I wheeled into his room. A few months with me appeared to have aged him years and that knowledge stung. If I mentioned it, he’d protest and say I’d done all I could. That only meant that I needed to do better by him.

“Hello, Michael,” he said. Since the only thing he could see was me and the Skinwalker in the doorway, I probably stood out like a sore thumb.

Nodding a thanks and an “I got it from here look” to Joe, I moved over to the bed with a couple of phantom images that I’d pulled from the Bible in my room and some magazines laying around and passed them to him.

“Just don’t let the staff catch you reading thin air,” I whispered. “They’ll try to take pictures of your brain like they’re doing with me.”

“I’ll try to keep it hidden,” he said.

“How are you feeling? You look good.”

“I’m sore, but I’ve been worse. They had this little machine thing strapped to my leg to massage my calf and prevent blood clots, but the doctors took it off yesterday. They’re making me go easy on the pain meds because of my age, but with the good grace of our Lord, I shall rise and walk again. I think the more important question is how are you, Michael?”

The million dollar question and I tried to be truthful with him. “Physically, I’m pretty good … a little sore from being in bed, I guess. Other than that, I guess I’m just drained.”

“Can’t take care of anyone else, if you won’t take care of yourself.”

My retort could’ve been the one about the pot calling the kettle black, but we were a pair of hypocrites and knew it, so I just let it go.

“I suppose I should call and see if they finally fixed Pastor Duncan’s car. I might actually stay in some nice hotels on the way back, but it’s going to be lonely without you keeping me company.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage just fine without me.” He said with a chuckle that changed into a coughing fit. I stood, unsteadily at first, and poured him a cup of water.

“Do you think we made a difference?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Virginia or Cassandra might have a different answer, but I was more interested in what Silas had to say.

“Yes, I think
you
made a difference,” he answered, dropping the “we” part. “De Soto was finally brought to justice and the pieces of him may roam this land forever serving penance for his misdeeds.”

“Looking forward to mentoring some troubled youths, Silas?”

“The Von Eckels woman offered to pay for a top of the line rehabilitation clinic.”

“She mentioned that to me. It was probably more geared toward buttering me up for her offer, but go ahead and take her up on it,” I said and explained the retainer arrangement before finishing, “Or do you think I should turn her down?”

“No,” he answered taking his time and thinking about his choice of words, “Just keep your eyes open and be ready to resist temptation.”

“I’ll just ask myself when I’m doing something if you would approve before I do it.”

That got a toothy grin and we joked about a few more things before I noticed that he was getting tired. After refilling his glass of water and catching my reflection in the mirror, I excused myself to take a shower and clean up. Karla would be by at some point and being clean shaven and not stinking up the joint would probably improve my chances, or at least not hurt them.

“Hey there! You’re up!” Karla sounded cheerful coming in. She looked good in a pair of white slacks and a thin blue blouse and with one of my duffel bags in her left hand. I spotted a brown wrist brace on the right one and frowned.

“Oh this? It’s nothing,” she brushed it off casually and then set the bag on a chair. Karla walked to my bedside and gave me a hug, but no kiss. “I sprained it trying to stop Silas from falling. I dropped by his floor on the way up to check in on him, but he’s asleep.”

“I saw him earlier,” I offered trying to read her body language. “He seems to be doing okay.”

“I know, but I feel so bad him getting hurt and not being around when you woke up.”

“Cassandra and Virginia said you were with your parents,” I said.

“After fighting with my insurance company about the damage to my vehicle. Anyway, I’m not a big Cassandra fan these days. Virginia, I don’t even know, but I feel like I should,” Karla paused and then said, “No one else is here right now. Right?”

“Just the two of us. Sorry about your kitchen floor.”